Collaborative Search

Abstract

Organizations engage in search when they innovate. Search is typically performed by multiple group members who are knowledgeable about parts of the search problem, but rarely understand all decision variables. Search theory has shown that team members therefore need to coordinate their work. However, previous work has not examined joint problem solving, that is, common responsibility for search variables. Incorporating joint problem solving as a mechanism into the canonical NK model framework, this study elucidates first how and why joint problem solving adds performance to mere coordination in complex search problems: Joint problem solving increases performance by expanding the search space, hence unlocking organizational creativity. Second, the study identifies the organizational context (knowledge distribution and hierarchical structure) in which joint problem solving is most beneficial.