Store creativity, store potency, store performance, retailing

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to test whether retail stores’ creativity predicts several indicators of performance through stores’ potency. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 45 stores (n = 317 employees) of a Brazilian retail chain was included, and a group/store level of analysis was adopted. Performance was measured through objective measures. To reduce the risks of common method variance, group creativity and group potency were measured with data from different store members. Findings: The findings show that store creativity predicts indicators of store performance through store potency. Research limitations/implications: The study was carried out within a single organization, and the stores’ sample is small. Other causalities are plausible, and future studies should adopt a longitudinal design to test reciprocal effects between the variables of the study. Practical implications: Cultivating creativity (via the selection of creative individuals and nurturing contextual conditions that encourage creativity) may have at least indirect effects on store performance. Originality/value: While the few empirical studies relating group creativity (still an under-researched topic) and performance have mostly used subjective performance measures, this study uses objective measures.