ABSTRACT
This chapter develops an Integrative framework for examining the relationship between team diversity and creativity, and attempts to link the literatures of diversity and creative leadership by expanding the conception of both. It draws on four team diversity theories used most commonly in extant research: (a) information processing, (b) social categorization, (c) theories of disparity/(in)justice and (d) access to external networks. Team diversity is treated, respectively, as variety of information, as separation, as disparity and as variety of access. Because each perspective does not sufficiently explain the effects of diversity on creativity, I propose a multi-lens framework that builds on their theoretical synergies and identifies leadership as the mechanism that links the two distal constructs. I discuss why considering the interplay of all four diversity types simultaneously is critical for enriching our understanding of how leaders can foster the creativity of diverse teams. The chapter concludes with implications for future research and practice that emerged from an analysis of the literature through the proposed framework.
