Effect of intrasquad communication and atmosphere on team creativity

This study examines the effect of intrasquad communication and atmosphere on team creativity in a team-driven project. Specifically, it assesses how communication type and team atmosphere effect of creativity. The study categorizes communication types into four 2 × 2 quadrants, employing ordinary least squares regression to analyze effect of them on team creativity. Data were obtained from an online questionnaire survey completed by 800 Japanese workers. Results indicated a positive correlation between intrasquad communication and team creativity, irrespective of its type—be it face-to-face or non-face-to-face, formal or private. However, “psychological safety” and “good rapport” within the team were confounding factors. When these were controlled for, only “face-to-face and formal” and “non-face-to-face and private” were significantly positively correlated with team creativity. Notably, a greater frequency of non-face-to-face and private communication was associated with enhanced team creativity. The novelty of this study is that focusing on team creativity instead of individual creativity, divided communication into four types and analyzed the relationship between the amount of each type of communication and team creativity. Furthermore, the study clarified the relationship between “psychological safety” and “good rapport” in the team and team creativity.