Solving Creative Problems through Temporary Collaboration: Short-term Project Organizations in the Japanese Animation Industry (2000 – 2008)

Short-term project organization(STPO) is an organizational form that is designed to solveproblems collectively for a limited duration. Drawing from the research of organizational learning,resource mobility, and resources reconfiguration, I investigate key antecedents to the formation ofshort-term project organizations. I hypothesize that the creativity necessary for problem solving, aswell as external availability of resources and internal resource constraints will influence theformation of short-term project organizations(STPOs). The Japanese animation industry—anindustry in which short-term project organizations has become common—is a uniquely relevantcontext for hypothesis testing. I have analyzed a sample of 645 Japanese TV animation programsdirected by 288 animation directors and produced by 83 animation studios between 2000 and 2008. I found that creativity of animation, as well as availability to directors with unique experience in highcreativity demand projects and resource availability of studios are directly responsible for thelikelihood of the formation of short-term project organizations. This study not only provide atheoretical framework to understand the formation of temporary organization by focusing on thecreativity required to solve problems, but also offer practical implications to managers about when tochoose project organizations over other alternatives.