Does idea exchange promote productivity in design idea generation?

Abstract

Past research has demonstrated that there are several factors that oppose group efficiency in idea generation. However, recent developments in theory suggest that individuals may become socially and cognitively facilitated as a result of idea exchange with group members. A design experiment was performed to study whether idea-exchanging individuals outperform those who work independently, in conditions found beneficial based on theoretical implications. We developed a scheme in which designers exchanged ideas with other's momentarily during the idea generation process, and compared their performance to designers that worked without any interaction. The study demonstrated that although idea-exchanging individuals generated more ideas, their performance was not enhanced in terms of the diversity of idea production. The results are interpreted in terms of a dual influence model of idea exchange.