Idea Generation Process Research Articles

Neural Mechanisms of Episodic Retrieval Support Divergent Creative Thinking.

Prior research has indicated that brain regions and networks that support semantic memory, top-down and bottom-up attention, and cognitive control are all involved in divergent creative thinking. Kernels of evidence suggest that neural processes supporting episodic memory-the retrieval of particular elements of prior experiences-may also be involved in divergent thinking, but such processes have typically been characterized as not very relevant for, or even a hindrance to, creative output. In the present study, we combine functional magnetic resonance imaging with an experimental manipulation to test formally, for the first time, episodic memory's involvement in divergent thinking. Following a manipulation that facilitates detailed episodic retrieval, we observed greater neural activity in the hippocampus and stronger connectivity between a core brain network linked to episodic processing and a frontoparietal brain network linked to cognitive control during divergent thinking relative to an object association control task that requires little divergent thinking. Stronger coupling following the retrieval manipulation extended to a subsequent resting-state scan. Neural effects of the episodic manipulation were consistent with behavioral effects of enhanced idea production on divergent thinking but not object association. The results indicate that conceptual frameworks should accommodate the idea that episodic retrieval can function as a component process of creative idea generation, and highlight how the brain flexibly utilizes the retrieval of episodic details for tasks beyond simple remembering.

Relationship between serial position and creativity in idea generation process (3)

Relationship between serial position and creativity in idea generation process (3)

Employee involvement in ideation and healthcare service innovation quality

ABSTRACTThis study hypothesizes and empirically tests the influence of involvement of (1) frontline employees and (2) top managers in ideation process on healthcare service innovation quality. Based on data from 168 service innovation projects in Dutch healthcare organizations, the empirical results indicate that frontline employee involvement and top management involvement in, respectively, idea generation and idea application both improve the quality of healthcare service innovation. We find that the positive effect of frontline employee involvement is stronger under the condition of higher service innovativeness. In the direct relationship of top management involvement and healthcare service innovation quality, our data do not show such a moderating effect. The key and general managerial implication of the findings is that healthcare organizations are inspired to involve frontline employees in the idea generation processes and involve top managers in the idea application processes of service innovation projects, in order to improve innovation quality.

Combining knowledge to generate novelty: a study of disclosed ideas for life science inventions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how a combination of diverse sources of knowledge is important for generation of new ideas and address how institutional infrastructures and practices support integration of knowledge across organizations in medicine and life sciences.Design/methodology/approachThe paper investigates new product ideas that emerge from hospital and university employees, and looks at the extent of interaction between clinical and scientific environments in the idea generation process. The paper utilizes data about all new product ideas within life science that were reported in South-Eastern Norway in 2009-2011, as well as information about the individuals and teams that had been involved in disclosing these ideas. Interviews with inventors have also been carried out.FindingsInteraction and integration across scientific and clinical domains are common and important for generating new product ideas. More than half of the disclosed life science ideas in the database come from groups representing multiple institutions with both scientific and clinical units or from individuals with multiple institutional affiliations. The interviews indicate that the infrastructure for cross-domain interaction is well-developed, particularly for research activities, which has a positive effect on invention.Originality/valueThe paper uses an original data set of invention disclosures and investigates the hospital-science interface, which is a novel setting for studies of inventive activities.

Effects of Process and Outcome Accountability on Idea Generation.

Previous research on the effects of outcome and process accountability on decision making has neglected the preceding phase of idea generation. We conducted a 2 (outcome accountability: yes vs. no)×2 (process accountability: yes vs. no) experiment (N=147) to test the effects of accountability on quantity and quality of generated ideas in a product design task. Furthermore, we examined potential negative side effects of accountability (i.e., stress and lengthened decision making). We found that (a) outcome accountability had a negative effect on quantity of ideas and (b) process accountability extended the idea generation process. Furthermore, any type of accountability (c) had a negative effect on uniqueness of ideas, (d) did not affect the quality of the idea that was selected, and (e) increased stress. Moreover, the negative effect of accountability on uniqueness of ideas was mediated by stress.

Technology in the Idea Generation Process: Voices from the Agency

Today's advertising students are digital natives who grew up embracing technology in all facets of their lives. This study reports the results of a survey of 39 advertising creatives and art directors as they described the role that technology plays in the conceptualization process at advertising agencies around the country. The findings suggest that idea generation is still developed with pen and paper, but that computers are best suited for the final designs, as the ideation process moves to production. The research findings suggest ways forward in advertising pedagogy, especially curricula in the design sequences, as advertising educators teach the next generation of creatives.

Research on Idea Generation and Selection: Implications for Management of Technology

Idea generation and selection are fundamental activities in innovation. Scholars in many disciplines have written about these activities, addressing diverse perspectives. In this study, we synthesize the research findings most applicable to the management of technology. First, we present findings on the process of idea generation: the importance of problem recognition and the many decisions made in organizing the effort. Second, we present findings about the process of idea selection, focusing on the different types of information that can be used in that decision. Third, we turn our attention to the organizational context in which both idea generation and selection occur: the corporate culture, use of incentives, organizational structure, and use of teams. Finally, we conclude, emphasizing that although idea generation and selection are as old as human decision making, changes in technology still affect these fundamental processes.

The Jam Session Model for Group Creativity and Innovative Technology

This paper builds on the analysis of factors observed at jazz jam sessions facilitating team creativity and improvisation as a model for managing organizational innovation. The model was established through detailed observations, surveys, historical research, and interviews. Even though the jazz metaphor has been used as a model for organizational improvisation the discussions rarely extend beyond the improvisational process of idea generation (Frishammar et al. in Creativity Innov Manag 2:179, 2016) towards a comprehensive model for team creativity and effective organizational management (Santos et al. in Creativity Innov Manag 24(4):645–658, 2015). The seven factor Jam Session Model for Group Creativity and Innovative Technology is built from a comprehensive analysis of the jam session process and exemplified with case studies of leading innovative companies such offering a theoretical and practical model for managing and facilitating group creativity and innovative technology.

Editorial

Editorial

A Model for the Process of Idea Generation

A variety of models of design and idea generation exist; yet, the exact process of idea generation is still only vaguely understood. In this paper, we propose a model of the idea generation process and make a number of recommendations for its improvement. We study both novice and experienced designers through a series of design experiments, seek patterns in their search for ideas, and use these to model the process. A major finding is that designers rely heavily on existing designs from their memory and modify these suitably to develop solutions for a given problem. Further, we discuss various specific patterns of idea generation during conceptual design.

The impact of online social networks on the generation of entrepreneurial ideas the case of egypt

The aim of this research is to evaluate the impact of online social networks on the generation of entrepreneurial ideas and to determine whether the use of “online” social networks affects the idea generation process differently than traditional “offline” social networks in Egypt. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from two separate nascent entrepreneurial populations via email. Two separate populations will be surveyed for this research. The first population is the target of much of the nascent entrepreneurial research, undergraduate students in Business departments in four private universities, which are (American University in Cairo (AUC), Modern Science and Art University (MSA), German University in Cairo (GUC) and Misr University for Science & Technology (MUST). The second population studied is intended to capture a broader age range of adults with a variety of interests and backgrounds, those taking continuing education classes at business studies division in School of Continuing Education- American University in Cairo (AUC) , and MBA Program studies in Arab Academy for Science, Tech.& Maritime Transport .The reasons behind choosing these populations are that the business studies division tends to attract individuals seeking skills and knowledge associated with starting a business, and the current position of the researchers provided the opportunity to obtain good response rate from the sample populations. The researchers used systematic sample. Descriptive statistics, test of means, t-test, regression, and correlation were used for data analysis. The findings showed that commencing nascent entrepreneurs using online social network websites identify more entrepreneurial ideas than others who do not use online social network websites. The practical and theoretical implications are discussed and future research directions are presented.

Idea Generation, Creativity, and Prototypicality

We explore the use of big data tools to shed new light on the idea generation process, automatically “read” ideas to identify promising ones, and help people be more creative. The literature suggests that creativity results from the optimal balance between novelty and familiarity, which can be measured based on the combinations of words in an idea. We build semantic networks where nodes represent word stems in a particular idea generation topic, and edge weights capture the degree of novelty versus familiarity of word stem combinations (i.e., the weight of an edge that connects two word stems measures their scaled co-occurrence in the relevant language). Each idea contains a set of word stems, which form a semantic subnetwork. The edge weight distribution in that subnetwork reflects how the idea balances novelty with familiarity. Based on the “beauty in averageness” effect, we hypothesize that ideas with semantic subnetworks that have a more prototypical edge weight distribution are judged as more creative. We show this effect in eight studies involving over 4,000 ideas across multiple domains. Practically, we demonstrate how our research can be used to automatically identify promising ideas and recommend words to users on the fly to help them improve their ideas. Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2016.0994 .

Leveraging Virtual Experimentation and Simulation in R&D

As the technology for virtual experimentation and simulation has matured, interest in its uses for RD he was responsible for integrating and upgrading the processes and systems of the two companies. He also incorporated more rigorous and formal portfolio management, idea generation, and risk management processes. He is currently a Senior Principal for Strategic Technologies, focused on the overall innovation management process for Entegris. steven.moskowitz@entegris.com tool not only saved significant time in the development process; it also improved researchers' ability to predict a prospective drug's success in clinical tests, and even in the marketplace. These new capabilities saved the company millions of dollars in development efforts that would have been expended on unsuccessful candidates (Thomke 2001). Given these kinds of results, it is unsurprising that innovators in other industries would be intrigued by the possibilities of simulation tools for R&D. Motivated by this growing interest, especially among its members, the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) established a research group to explore best practices and pitfalls in leveraging virtual experimentation and simulation in R&D. The research group engaged in a comprehensive study of the current state of practice in virtual experimentation and simulation, conducting a structured literature review, a comparative case study across more than 15 companies, and a survey. Through that work, the group has explored how R&D itself evolves when virtual experimentation and simulation tools are implemented, inducing change in the core areas of the discipline. For instance, these tools can alter the approach to design thinking and accelerate iterations, as well as enabling new modes of co-creation with customers. However, as the literature survey reveals, these tools are not without pitfalls, many of which may be avoided if managers are proactive and alert to developing attitudes toward the technology. …

Different Styles for Different Needs – The Effect of Cognitive Styles on Idea Generation

Researchers are engaged in finding the precursors for innovation. Drawing on Kirton's Adaption‐Innovation (KAI) Inventory, we explicitly test Kirton's central premise that cognitive styles differentiate between preferences for producing ideas in a certain way. We argue that the generation of either a magnitude or original ideas is governed by different underlying cognitive styles. In a study with 191 individuals, we find that the cognitive style originality associates with ideational fluency whereas the rule governance style associates with the generation of original ideas. By providing a cognitive explanation for how ideas are generated, we deepen the understanding of the idea generation process. This is particularly important for the future use of the KAI and for organizations that strive to be innovative.

BIM-based idea bank for managing value engineering ideas

Value engineering is a proven management technique for generating benefits and improving the value of construction projects. However, due to kludgy and inconvenient past data and free-thinking techniques, idea generation during VE workshop is time-consuming and often relies on VE participants' experience. Although various studies have developed technical systems related to database management to overcome these limitations, the idea generation process is still recognized as an area to be improved. This study suggests a BIM-based VE Idea Bank to enable the systematic retrieval of past VE data, and efficient generation of new ideas. The system development includes: 1) Data model based on VE Idea Bank; 2) creating BIM objects; and 3) integrating BIM and VE Idea Bank. A prototype is developed and its effectiveness is assessed through system trials, interviews and questionnaires with 23 industry professionals. Interim results show that the proposed system has great potential to improve VE study efficiency.

A creative idea generation methodology by future envisioning from the user experience perspective

Although several studies have suggested activities of the fuzzy front end (FFE), they focus more on incremental innovation than to radical innovation. This study developed a creative idea generation methodology for the FFE of radical innovation from the user experience (UX) perspective, i.e., UX-driven idea generation methodology. Based on a literature review, a creative idea generation process was developed; it consists of four successive phases (Future envision, Opportunity identification and analysis, Idea generation, and Idea expansion) and one supportive phase (Ideation control). From various research fields, 70 idea generation techniques were collected and classified into phases of the process. To identify implicit and latent opportunities, the future envision method was developed based on a factor combination approach. In assessments by four experts in IT, the ideas generated by the UX-driven idea generation methodology got higher scores than brainstorming approach in novelty and relevance, but not in feasibility. The effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction was greater in the group who used the UX-driven idea generation methodology.Relevance to industry: The idea generation methodology suggested in this study can help indusial designers such as novice designers, analytical individuals as well as intuitive individuals who adhere to initial ideas. The UX-driven methodology can be used as a guideline when selecting an idea generation technique in the FFE.

Integrating Strategic Thinking and Transformational Leadership for NPD Idea Support Process

Abstract Contemporary businesses implement tactical approaches to support their corporate interests. Based on such logic, the current study presents an attempt to connect the concept of transformational leadership with strategic thinking capability to formulate a diagnostic approach to harness new product idea generation potential in industrial work teams. The idea behind formulating such a research framework is to offer industrial leaders, a mechanism for connectivity among various aspects of operations linked to leadership, corporate strategy and new product idea generation process, of their teams for corporate harmony and effectiveness. The research survey is conducted on 30 team member's representing new product development (NPD) operations at three selected work locations of a European multinational company (Finland, Norway and the UK). The results of our study identified scientifically, the proposed theoretical connection among three industrial operational areas i.e., transformational leadership, strategy thinking and new product idea generation process.

We walk the line: Icons provisional appearances on virtual whiteboards trigger elaborative dialogue and creativity

Collaborative groupwork is a key creativity tool in industry. Digital Creativity Support Systems (CSS) have become a critical catalyst of distributed creative processes. Under laboratory conditions, this interaction design study uses an experiment to investigate the impact of apparent icon finishedness as a social affordance for elaborative dialogue, and enhanced creativity. The experiment examines the idea generation processes of 37 pairs of active managers using a synchronous CSS. Apparent finishedness is a purely presentational factor - it is completely separate from the actual substance of an idea. The results show that presenting ideas with icons made of sketchy natural lines with low perceived finishedness encourages elaborative dialogue and creativity. Low perceived finishedness icons functioned as a social affordance - they afforded the social behaviour of building upon each other’s ideas as well as more creative idea generation. This is the first study to quantitatively examine the perceived finishedness of icons. This study shows that minor changes in visual treatments significantly impact creative processes and outcomes. As co-constructive interaction is central to many collaborative behaviours across working and learning, this study has clear implications for the subtle encouragement of co-construction in computer-mediated communication.

Synopsis of the ASPLOS '16 Wild and Crazy Ideas (WACI) Invited-Speakers Session

The Wild and Crazy Ideas (WACI) session is a longstanding tradition at ASPLOS, soliciting talks that consist of forward-looking, visionary, inspiring, creative, far out or just plain amazing ideas presented in an exciting way. (Amusing elements in the presentations are tolerated ;-) but are in fact optional.) The first WACI session took place in 1998. Back then, the call for talks included a problem statement, which contended that "papers usually do not get admitted to [such conferences as] ISCA or ASPLOS unless the systems that they describe are mature enough to run [some standard benchmark suites, which] has a chilling effect on the idea generation process---encouraging incremental research" [1]. The 1998 WACI session turned out to be a great success. Its webpage states that "there were 42 submissions [competing over] only eight time slots, [which resulted in] this session [having] a lower acceptance rate than the conference itself" [2]. But the times they are a-changin' [3], and the WACI session no longer enjoys that many submissions (Figure 1), perhaps because nowadays there exist many forums for researchers to describe/discuss their preliminary ideas, including: the ``hot topics in'' workshops [4--7]; a journal like CAL, dedicated to early results [8]; main conferences soliciting short submissions describing ``original or unconventional ideas at a preliminary stage'' in addition to regular papers [9]; and the many workshops co-located with main conferences, like ISCA '15, which hosted thirteen such workshops [10]. Regardless of the reason for the declining number of submissions, this time we've decided to organize the WACI session differently to ensure its continued high quality. Instead of soliciting talks via an open call and hoping for the best, we proactively invited speakers whom we believe are capable of delivering excellent WACI presentations. That is, this year's WACI session consists exclusively of invited speakers. Filling up the available slots turned out to be fairly easy, as most of the researchers we invited promptly accepted our invitation. The duration of each talk was set to be eight minutes (exactly as in the first WACI session from 1998) plus two minutes for questions. The talks are outlined below. We believe they are interesting and exciting, and we hope the attendees of the session will find them stimulating and insightful.

Synopsis of the ASPLOS '16 Wild and Crazy Ideas (WACI) Invited-Speakers Session

The Wild and Crazy Ideas (WACI) session is a longstanding tradition at ASPLOS, soliciting talks that consist of forward-looking, visionary, inspiring, creative, far out or just plain amazing ideas presented in an exciting way. (Amusing elements in the presentations are tolerated ;-) but are in fact optional.) The first WACI session took place in 1998. Back then, the call for talks included a problem statement, which contended that "papers usually do not get admitted to [such conferences as] ISCA or ASPLOS unless the systems that they describe are mature enough to run [some standard benchmark suites, which] has a chilling effect on the idea generation process---encouraging incremental research" [1]. The 1998 WACI session turned out to be a great success. Its webpage states that "there were 42 submissions [competing over] only eight time slots, [which resulted in] this session [having] a lower acceptance rate than the conference itself" [2]. But the times they are a-changin' [3], and the WACI session no longer enjoys that many submissions (Figure 1), perhaps because nowadays there exist many forums for researchers to describe/discuss their preliminary ideas, including: the ``hot topics in'' workshops [4--7]; a journal like CAL, dedicated to early results [8]; main conferences soliciting short submissions describing ``original or unconventional ideas at a preliminary stage'' in addition to regular papers [9]; and the many workshops co-located with main conferences, like ISCA '15, which hosted thirteen such workshops [10]. Regardless of the reason for the declining number of submissions, this time we've decided to organize the WACI session differently to ensure its continued high quality. Instead of soliciting talks via an open call and hoping for the best, we proactively invited speakers whom we believe are capable of delivering excellent WACI presentations. That is, this year's WACI session consists exclusively of invited speakers. Filling up the available slots turned out to be fairly easy, as most of the researchers we invited promptly accepted our invitation. The duration of each talk was set to be eight minutes (exactly as in the first WACI session from 1998) plus two minutes for questions. The talks are outlined below. We believe they are interesting and exciting, and we hope the attendees of the session will find them stimulating and insightful.