Abstract:

Resume: Paper starts from the idea that the organizations and people are influenced, in different ways, by the contest where they live.

Our interest concerns one particular kind of organization, enterprise, and one particular kind of people, university students in economics. The focus of the research is to explore if and how the environment and its agents influence the attitude of the companies towards innovation and creativity. Moreover it wants to investigates how cultural models of the geographical area influence the conception of the “creative person” in university students. Finally is very interesting to know if and how a balance exist between the request of enterprises and the characteristics of students, taking in account that students could be in the future employed in enterprises.
Method: The study concern the territories of Perugia, Terni and Rieti, in the centre of Italy. They were analysed with a social point of view, in order to interpret the request of innovation of the companies and the creative potential offered by the students. Two different questionnaires were administrated: one for the companies and one for the students and then the answers of the two questionnaires were compared.

Results: Data evidence an intensive request of innovation by the companies. The answers seem to put in relationship innovation and creativity; in fact the companies underline that one of the advantages from working with creative staff is the improvement of innovative changes and processes. They also underline that the factors for improving creativity at work are especially connected with human resources. About the students, they point out some environmental factors that stimulate their own creativity: freedom in choices, working with people having different know-out and easy ways for contacts and communication. Possible answer for these requests could be offered by the territory and its agents through the Educational System, family, social contest and physical area and resources. The paper finally put in evidence that also the vision that the students have toward the business is strongly influenced by the environmental factors.

Keywords:

creativity, innovation, companies, students, environment, territory.