Sociomateriality in the Creative Process of Advertising Agencies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e15823Keywords:
sociomateriality, creative process, advertising agencies, creative industriesAbstract
Traditionally, studies on creativity have emphasized approaches centered on individual cognitive abilities or, more broadly, on social and environmental factors. This study aimed to examine how sociomaterial aspects shape the creative process in advertising agencies, a sector in which creativity constitutes the core of organizational activities. Situated within the context of the creative industries, the study is grounded in the understanding that advertising production involves not only individual skills but also continuous interactions among professionals, artifacts, digital technologies, and workspaces. This is a qualitative study, based on participant observation conducted in an advertising agency, with the activities of the creative department serving as the empirical reference. The findings indicate that creative solutions emerge from a creative assemblage composed of human and non-human elements, articulated within a virtual synthetic world enabled primarily by the intensive use of the internet and digital tools. By conceptualizing creativity as a situated and relational practice, and by assuming the inseparability of humans and artifacts, this study contributes to a sociomaterial turn in creativity research, extending the understanding of the phenomenon beyond exclusively psychological or social perspectives. The study offers contributions to the field by demonstrating how materiality enhances and shapes the creative process in everyday organizational contexts, reinforcing the view of creativity as a sociomaterial practice.
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