The outbreak of the COVID-19 disease has posed great challenges to the worldwide economy and people’s daily lives and will have far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the disease. At the same time, crisis is also a strong driver of creativity and innovation. Indeed, if examined closely, one can already observe abundant creativity and innovation emerging at the national, institutional, organizational, and individual levels within the countries affected by COVID-19.

Much of the research on creativity and innovation stresses the need for time and effort for creative thought, accomplishments, and innovation implementation. However, taking time to respond creatively may be a luxury that is not available or advisable when a crisis emerges like what we are now facing. Interestingly, the current COVID-19 crisis has suggested that it may not always be the case that time is needed to develop a creative and innovative response, and creativity can nevertheless thrive under these conditions.

The purpose of this Research Topic is therefore to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 crisis on creativity and innovation and vice versa – that is, the role of creativity and innovation in the fight against COVID-19, as well as their relationship to resilience and coping. We welcome articles that relate to any aspect of creativity and innovation under crisis situations, with a specific focus on understanding what is currently occurring with regard to the changes in society, our daily routines, and work life in response to COVID-19. We encourage submissions that examine not only the determining factors of creativity and innovation in crisis (e. g. personal, situational, or environmental factors), but also the specific outcomes of creativity and innovation on personal, organizational, and social well-being. We invite authors to submit manuscripts on topics such as, but not limited to -

• Creativity’s role in helping people deal with stress, fear, and uncertainty in times of crisis;
• Creativity’s role in helping people express and regulate emotions in times of crisis;
• Creativity’s role in helping people solve problems for fighting COVID-19;
• Humor’s role in helping people cope with stress and threats, and the relationship between humor and creativity;
• The relationships between restrictions (e.g., city lockdown, time constraints), stress, boredom, and creativity;
• The psychology of creativity in crisis times (e.g., personality factors, motivations, emotions, positive thinking, resilience, creative adaptability);
• Creativity, well-being, and life-satisfaction;
• Lockdown, creativity, and social connectedness;
• Creativity and resilience in helping organizations solve problems and challenges posed by COVID-19;
• Creativity and resilience in helping organizations adapt to the current and upcoming changes posed by COVID-19;
• The effect of creativity, flexibility, and resilience in helping leaders cope with challenges and uncertainties in times of crisis;
• Creativity in crisis and its influence on innovation (e.g. digital transformation, social innovation, and entrepreneurship).

This special issue gives preference to empirical studies but is also open to relevant theoretical works. We welcome contributions from different disciplines and cultures as well as studies adopting multidisciplinary approaches.

***Due to the exceptional nature of the COVID-19 situation, Frontiers is waiving all article publishing charges for COVID-19 related research in this Research Topic submitted in 2020.***

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