Unleashing the Creativity of Entrepreneurs with Digital Technologies

Abstract

AbstractFor decades, creativity has been used to generate ideas among entrepreneurs and their teams. Although extensive research has been conducted on creativity, the majority of studies have focused on traditional ways of stimulating creativity, such as focus groups, the collective notebook method, brainstorming, brainwriting, reverse brainstorming and problem inventory analysis. However, the digital age appears to challenge much of this existing work on the nature of creativity. It is clear that online creativity and audiences are affecting the meaning, expression and impact of creativity. The traditional techniques of stimulating creativity have been replaced and aided by technology-driven innovations, such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and the Internet of things (IoT). This chapter explores ways to activate the creativity of entrepreneurs and their teams through the use of digital technologies. We believe that this chapter provides a rich source of examples on how technology is currently being used to support creativity by encouraging entrepreneurs and their teams to make connections, develop ideas, create meaning, collaborate and communicate. We present, in detail, three case studies and discuss practical implications for the future.