International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)

ISSN (Online): 2319-7064

Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391

Creativity and Innovation in Google

Abrar Alhajri
Imam Mohammed Bin Saud University

1. Introduction
Google also has the belief that ―ideas come from anywhere‖.
As major primary drivers for growth and profitability in So, on top of Google platforms, developers from around the
business, both creativity and innovation naturally feature at world are invited to work with the Google App Engine,
the top of many corporate agendas. Organisations have Android and the Google Web Toolkit. They are given the
recognised that world-class operational excellence and opportunity to create ‗cool stuff‘, even though they are not
efficiency alone are not enough to sustain competitive themselves Google employees (Schmidt and Rosenberg,
advantage and differentiation in rapidly changing 2014). Henry Chesbrough (2003) introduced the concept of
environments and fast growing, challenging, global markets. ‗open innovation‘ as ―ongoing collaboration with people,
Instead, leaders and businesses alike have striven to reward involving contributions from outside the company‖. In
creativity and innovation. contrast, ‗closed innovation‘ is kept in-house until the
product hits the market. Google takes both open and closed
Google Inc. is a good example of those few successful innovation approaches, and the company has many projects
corporate bodies that truly harness their capital, human and following both models. Android and Chrome OS are
psychical resources in fostering creativity and innovation. examples of interfaces developed through collaboration
Google‘s generation of almost US$30 billion revenues in between Google and the outside community (McPherson,
2010 and its assumption, in 2011, of the title of ‗the world‘s 2011). Google Wave, meanwhile, is a good example of
most valuable brand‘ (Anon, 2013) testify to its success in closed innovation, since it was developed without any
launching a stream of new and innovative products – many external contribution, illustrating the strength of Google‘s
developed in house, and some acquired. own innovation ecosystem.

2. Creativity and innovation Another aspect of the priority given by Google to creativity
is the company‘s adherence to a ―20% time‖ philosophy,
Creativity has been defined from two different perspectives: which encourages employees to allocate 20% of their work-
the individualist perspective and the sociocultural time to developing side-projects and to working cross-
perspective (Sawyer, 2006). The latter is more relevant to functionally with other teams. Googlers are thus more
the focus of the essay. Creativity has been defined as ―the empowered to think freely and implement new ideas and
generation of a product that is judged to be novel and also to thoughts of benefit to the organisation as a whole.
be appropriate, useful, or valuable by a suitably
knowledgeable social group‖ (Sawyer, 2006). Another In terms of innovation, Google‘s management has
simple definition of creativity – provided by Dawson and implemented innovation as an integral component in all its
Andriopoulos (2014) - describes creativity as the generation functions. The company focuses on an open-sourced
of novel and useful ideas. Innovation, as defined by Amabile partnership model that has resulted in the firm gaining
(1988), is ―the successful implementation of creative ideas contributions from a far larger number of potential
within an organisation‖. Another definition of innovation - innovators than are normally available to a company,
by Verloop (2013, p.3) – presents innovation as ―bringing an bringing a diversity of minds to contribute to projects of all
insightful idea successfully to the market‖. kinds (Postaer 2012). Google is successful both in terms of
management and product innovation. The firm has
succeeded in establishing and maintaining an outstanding
3. Creativity and innovation in Google management model for continuous innovation, and this has
been propelled both by the company culture (an aspect to be
These ideals have specifically been identified as the main discussed in the upcoming sections) and by the individuals
driving forces for the continued success enjoyed at Google. involved. In Google, the level of innovation is radical. This
Creativity has several different manifestations in Google. is evidenced by some of Google‘s products – such as Gmail,
And one of the obvious loci of creativity at Google is called Google+, YouTube, AdWords and Google Glass (Steiber,
―Google Labs‖ - where a number of new ideas are 2014) - which have radically upturned logical assumptions
‗incubated‘, a process whereby Google welcomes users‘ in their respective fields.
thoughts about new ideas. Based on those comments, they
can determine whether to develop the ideas further or start In Figure 1, we see evidence of how such successful
on new ones. It was in these labs that many creative ideas - innovative products have affected the company‘s revenues.
such as Google Maps and Google Glass (Postaer, 2012) -
were developed.

Volume 7 Issue 2, February 2018

[Link]
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: ART201822 DOI: 10.21275/ART201822 438
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391

(Source: Statstia, 2014)

Figure 1: Google‘s revenue between 2002-2014

4. Google’s Organisational Structure small business units are divided on the basis of product
market or geography. This hybrid form of functional and
Google‘s structure has a huge influence on its creative multidivisional structure works well for Google. It
culture. The company has adopted a flat structure with few maintains a small-company feel, reflecting the belief that
hierarchal levels, and decisions at Google are made in every employee is an effective contributor, and that
teams. everyone plays an equally important part in Google‘s
success. Employees love to work at Google, and not just
Google adopts a cross-functional organisational structure, because of perks, which include flexible working time and
combined with a unique philosophy in which management bonuses; they also love the fact that their work is assigned
positions are specialized by value chain activity. The to them through this cross-functional leadership structure
company has also focused – to varying degrees - on (MarketLine, 2015).
flattening the structure. As Figure 2 shows, within each
top-level activity, there is a multidivisional structure, where

Figure 2: Google‘s Organisational Structure

5. Google’s culture plentiful perks, unconventional office designs, freedom,

flexibility and transparency. Google has cultivated a creative
According to Fortune Magazine and the Great Place to Work and passionate workforce, and it is this passion that holds
Institute, the culture it has pursued has paid off for Google, the key to the company‘s innovation.
which consistently ranks among the world‘s best companies
to work for. Googlewas named the ―Best Company to Work Many researchers have produced evidence highlighting the
For‖ in 2014. Google remains listed among Forbes‘s ―Best importance of culture to organisational performance and
Places To Work‖, and figures cited by Dill (2015) show that effectiveness (Ahmed, 1998).Rousseau (1989) has
the job satisfaction is about 84%, which is further evidence distinguished between the ‗working climate‘ (environment)
of the creative, fulfilling working environment and culture. that reflects how one feels about the current setting, and the
‗working culture‘, which stresses how one ―should‖ behave
Google is trying to create an arena where people can be in an organisation. Bessant and Tidd (2011) have made the
brought together to innovate (MarketLine, 2015). The same distinction between these two terms. They believe that
company values innovation and creativity and rewards the climate is more observable on the surface level, and more
fruits of these ideals. The Google work culture includes amenable to change, while culture refers to the deeper
values, beliefs, and norms within the organisation. Schneider

2
Paper ID: ART201822 DOI: 10.21275/ART201822 439
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
(1988) has defined culture as ―the values that lie beneath Laszlo Bock, Senior Vice President of People Operations at
what the organisation rewards, supports, and expects; the Google, says, ―Personally, I believe this culture is an insight
norms that surround and/or underpin the policies, practices into the human condition. People look for meaning in their
and procedures of organisations; the meaning incumbents work. People want to know what‘s happening in their
share about what the norms and values of the organisation environment. People want to have some ability to shape that
are‘. environment,‖ he said.

Google‘s organisational structure helps the company in Google offers remarkable perks and benefits. And here are
nurturing a very creative environment. According to the some of them:
company‘s website, Googlers feel they can easily  Googlers get legal advice at no cost and, in the US,
communicate within their groups and just as easily with their reimbursement of up to $5,000 is offered to employees for
seniors. When Larry Page passes a message down, that legal expenses.
message can easily pass throughout the company, because  Maternity benefits are provided, with a maximum of 18
Google has a short chain of command. In order to determine weeks off at 100 percent pay. The father and mother of the
a company‘s culture, four factors are decisive: the people newborn are given expenses set at a maximum of $500.
who work at the firm, the nature of the work, the role of the  On-site, convenient medical services are provided, along
leader, and the manner in which the company is structured with a free fitness center and trainer.
(formal organisation) (Gulati, Mayo, and Nohria, 2013) (see  There is financial support for adopting a child.
Figure 3). If necessary, Googlers can ask questions directly  An on-site car wash, oil change, bike repair, dry cleaning,
to Larry, Sergey and other executives about any issues they gym, massage therapy and hair stylist are all available at
face. All offices, cafes and common rooms are designed to the company‘s headquarters (in Mountain View,
encourage interactions between Googlers within and across California).
teams, and to spark conversation about work as well as play  At the Googleplex, there‘s a facility to wash clothes,
(Google, 2015c). Google's culture is very informal, and this among other benefits.
informality gives employees more autonomy - in terms of
 Lunch and dinner are available free of charge (Google,
the way they work, the way they dress (no uniforms), etc. 2015b).
Based on the four cultural types that are identified by
These benefit packages also plays a major part in attracting
Cameron and Quinn (1999), Google seems mainly to be
employees. Google states that - from their employee
focusing on ‗People Culture‘. Individuality is the main point,
retirement funds to their free lunch and dinner program -
and as a result of this priority Google encourages employees
they strive to offer customizable programs that suit the needs
to take risks and innovate. For example, when a vice of each of the Googlers (Google, 2015b).
president in charge of the advertising system made a mistake
costing the company several million dollars, she apologized
for the mistake (McPherson 2011). Larry Page the CEO has 6. Google and managing change
said that ―he would rather run a company where they are
moving quickly and doing too much, as opposed to being In terms of maintaining its level of success in a rapidly
too cautious and doing too little‖. This attitude toward acting growing environment, change, in any organisation, can be
fast and accepting the cost of resultant mistakes has created either a necessity or an opportunity. Organisations need to
a culture that stands out among Google‘s competitors continuously and proactively change. Since the company‘s
(Martins and Terblanche, 2003). Many scholars indicate that establishment in 1998, many employees in Google have
an organisational culture that supports ongoing learning questioned the value of managers, believing that
orientation should encourage creativity and innovation management is more destructive than beneficial. The
(Lock and Kirkpatrick, 1995). triggers to change can either be external or internal (Dawson
and Andriopoulos, 2014). And, in the case of Google, the
instigator of change was an internal trigger that resulted in
administrative adjustment (Frick, 2014).

A few years after the founding, Page and Brin wondered

whether Google needed any managers at all. In 2002, they
experimented with a flat organization, eliminating
engineering managers entirely - in an effort to break down
barriers to the rapid execution of ideas. That experiment
lasted only a few months. The executives gave up on this
plan when too many staff went directly to them with
questions about interpersonal conflicts, expense reports and
other issues. Furthermore, as the company grew, the
founders soon realized that managers contributed in many
other, important ways — for example, in helping employees
prioritize projects, communicate their strategy, support their
Figure 3: Cultural Determinants career development, ensuring that processes and systems are
(Source: Adapted from Gulati, R., Mayo, A. J. and Nohria, aligned with company goals and facilitating collaboration
N. (2013) Management. 1st ed). (Frick, 2014).

Volume 7 Issue 2, February 2018

[Link]
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: ART201822 DOI: 10.21275/ART201822 440
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
its current mission and further innovation objectives
In 2006, Page and Brin hired Laszlo Bock to become the (MarketLine, 2015).
Vice President of the People Operations department. This  Competition: Rivals – in the form of Apple, Microsoft,
department managed performance reviews. It also helped Facebook, Yahoo!, eBay, Twitter, Monster Worldwide,
conduct and interpret the Googlegeist employee survey on Research In Motion Limited, HTC Corporation WebMD,
career development goals, benefits, perks, and company Kayak, Amazon, etc. are coming from all directions and
culture. Thereafter, Bock hired Prasad Setty from Capital posing competition in each of Google‘s various markets.
One to lead a People Analytics group. Setty recruited many Google therefore necessarily has a strategy on how to
PhD holders with serious research portfolios (Google, maintain its lead in the research space, advertising space
2015a). This new team was committed to leading and other revenue sources. Sundar Pichai is the new
organisational change. The team used a change curve theory, Product Chief at Google, now heading up the development
which recognises four phases: of almost all products. It will be interesting to see what are
the next big things he and Google can innovate.
Phase 1: When changes occur, employees tend not to accept
them, or resist the change As Eric Schmidt; Google Chief Executive, said: ―We have to
Phase 2: This is the stage where employees tend to be find a way to continue to be creative, with some more
unwilling to accept the change and become negative towards oversight" (Lionel and Maija, 2010).
the organisation as a whole.
Phase 3: This is when leadership takes place; employees 8. Conclusion
start accepting this change and find out the benefits of such
change for themselves. Google is currently one of the most dominant global
Phase 4: This is when employees accept the implementation technological [Link] company‘s operations are
of the new objectives. Leaders make everyone ready to based on solid ideals, which may be traced back to its
achieve the mutual goals (McPherson 2011). founders and its origins. In a world crowded with many
search engines, Google was the first company that put users
7. Challenges facing Google first. The company‘s mission statement summarizesthe
commitment towards the end-user‘s needs: ―To organize the
Despite Google‘s continuous innovation, the company has world‘s information and to make it universally accessible
encountered problems related to its rapid growth. In May and useful‖.
2010, Google had over 20,000 employees. This size had a
negative effect on the company‘s ability to maintain an At Google, employees are more empowered to think freely
entrepreneurial culture. The most often heard complaint was and implement new ideas that benefit the organisation.
that the employees‘ skills were not being utilized (Lionel Keeping their employees happy is a value on which they do
and Maija, 2010). not compromise. The company emphasizes such aspirations
as risk taking, agility, and cooperation, believing that
Another challenge for Google has been in expanding into creative employees are the key factors in sustaining
new fields outside of its web search engine business. To continuous creativity and innovation throughout the whole
promote new ideas, Google encourages all engineers to company. Understanding organisational culture is essential
spend 20% of their time working on their own ideas for a company to understand the norms, values, assumptions,
(Google, 2015c). This was also achieved by acquisitions and meanings and expectations of their employees and clients.
partnerships as another corporate strategies used by Google This is crucial in providing solutions to the growing market
in order to foster expansion beyond the Internet search demands surrounding the organization. So far, the company
engine. has responded to several external and internal factors to
change. And it has been vindicated in its belief that being
The current challenges facing Google can be summarized dynamic is essential to survival in the face of vigorous
according to: competition.
 Culture: with such expansion in terms of the number of
employees, teams, offices, locations, products and Google has a reputation for being innovative and wildly
services, the challenge is how Google can make sure: 1) to successful. And this has its roots in its "Don't be evil"
continue to maintain the culture of hiring the right people, philosophy. Larry Page says about their philosophy, ―We
then making sure that innovation is continuous, and: 2) to have a mantra: don‘t be evil, which is to do the best things
maintain an entrepreneurial culture, thus addressing the we know how for our users, for our employees, for
complaint that employees‘ skills are not adequately being everyone. So I think if we were known for that, it would be a
utilized (Frick, 2014). wonderful thing‖ (Google, 2015c).
 Diversification: this is about striking the right balance
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Paper ID: ART201822 DOI: 10.21275/ART201822 441
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
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Volume 7 Issue 2, February 2018

[Link]
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: ART201822 DOI: 10.21275/ART201822 442