Researchers and practitioners recognize that cultural diversity has the potential to enhance creativity, yet our understanding of how to tap into this potential remains limited. In this symposium, we attempt to advance our understanding of this domain by presenting four papers which examine the effects of people's experiences within and between cultures on creative processes and outcomes. The first paper tests whether cross-cultural experiences and the mental approaches taken during these experiences contribute to enhanced creativity. The second and third papers suggest that variation in intrapersonal cultural diversity better captures the diverse perspectives hypothesized to underlie a team's creative advantage than do conventional categorical interpersonal measures. These papers further highlight the respective roles of interpersonal congruence and the recognition and combination of cultural differences as potential mediating mechanisms. Finally, the fourth paper suggests that cultures vary across different aspects of creative performance and that these differences can create both conflict and the potential for success when people from different cultures meet. We hope that this collection of papers will create a lively discussion about the ways in which cultural differences influence creative performance.

Agenda/Outline:

Diverse Cultural Experiences Facilitate Creativity and Innovation
Presenter: Adam D. Galinsky; Northwestern U.;
Presenter: William W. Maddux; INSEAD;
Presenter: Carmit T. Tadmor; Tel Aviv U.;
Presenter: Hajo Adam; INSEAD;
Presenter: Angela Leung; Singapore Management U.;
Presenter: Hal B Gregersen; INSEAD;
Presenter: Jeffrey H. Dyer; Brigham Young U.;

The Influence of Multiculturalism and Self-Verification on Creativity in Culturally Diverse Dyads
Presenter: Carmit T. Tadmor; Tel Aviv U.;
Presenter: Patricia Hernandez; Harvard U.;
Presenter: Sujin Jang; Harvard U.;
Presenter: Jeffrey T. Polzer; Harvard U.;

Multicultural Exposure and Cultural Habits as Catalysts for Team Creativity
Presenter: Chi-Ying Cheng; Singapore Management U.;
Presenter: Shira Mor; Columbia Business School;

Culture, Creative Ability, Need for Uniqueness and Creativity Types in Multicultural Teams
Presenter: Rikki Nouri; Technion Israel Institute of Technology;
Presenter: Miriam Erez; Technion Israel Institute of Technology;