Founded in 1996 by a group of friends with a passion for writing humoristic content, Produções Fictícias (PF) gained national recognition for providing highly creative scripts for several media channels. The company combined a mix of two worlds, those of the creatives and the staff, where the last group should support the former one. With the belief that creativity was at the centre of the company, and everything else only existed to facilitate the producers’ work, PF grew and in 2008, the company had more than 30 employees and acknowledged successes in the fields of humor and fiction.
The PF case can be used in courses on organizational behavior and creativity and innovation management. It addresses topics such as leadership, culture, structure/design, control, motivation, and the management of knowledge workers in a cultural industry.
The case opens with a description of the origins of the company, how it evolved from a group of amateurs and friends into a more formal business structure, the obstacles they faced and the opportunities they took under the leadership of Nuno Artur Silva and with the shared vision of creating a company that specialized in the writing of humoristic content. In time this vision would give rise to a distinctive professional structure in the world of scriptwriter representation.
The rest of the case details how creativity was managed and how PF recruits and motivates its producers. The company places extraordinary emphasis on encouraging creativity, and exceptional professionalism. But can this commitment continue with the increased demand placed on PF by growth? Can the company diversify into other fields and still maintain its tradition of outstanding creative potential? The challenge of going abroad seems inevitable, but how much additional constraint would that strategy impose on the company’s culture?
Author: Ana Filipa Oliveira, Miguel Pina e Cunha
Reference Number: NSBE-15-08001
Number of pages: 14
Publisher: Nova School of Business and Economics
Teaching Notes: Yes
Language: English
Price: € 3,50