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The hidden cost of keeping secrets: how protecting proprietary information can inhibit creativity

Companies in the information industry rely on employees to protect proprietary information from the clutches of competitors. In exhorting employees to protect proprietary information, few employers consider the affect of such constants of employees' creativity. But, there are several reasons to believe that people may be less creative when asked to protect proprietary information. First, employees are less creative when they do not have adequate autonomy. Being asked to keep proprietary information secret may reduce people's sense of autonomy. Second, when people absorb new information, it becomes integrated into their existing mental models and may be difficult to differentiate from their existing knowledge. Third, asking people to suppress information may strain their cognitive resources. For all of these reasons, people may be less creative when asked to protect proprietary information. In an experiment, subjects were asked to end a packet of information and to brainstorm on new product ideas for information appliances. In two of the four conditions, subjects were told that some of the information they were reading was proprietary. In the remaining two conditions, no information was designated as proprietary. When some information as proprietary, subjects generated significantly fewer product ideas and their best idea was less creative than when no information was proprietary. The results suggest that being asked to protect proprietary information reduces idea generation and creativity.