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Putting Quality First in Ideation Research

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  • Bruce A. Reinig

    (San Diego State University)

  • Robert O. Briggs

    (San Diego State University)

Abstract

Teams use ideation techniques such as brainstorming to generate alternatives in response to a crisis or opportunity with the goal of converging on a few high-quality ideas. Ideation research, however, tends to focus on developing techniques that generate a large quantity of ideas, sometimes giving little attention to the cognitive mechanisms that give rise to good-quality ideas, or to the validity of the metrics by which ideation quality is measured . This study examines a theoretical link between idea quality and quantity in the ideation literature using Bounded Ideation Theory (BIT). BIT proposes that the relationship between participant ability and ideation quality is moderated by cognitive factors such as scarcity of attention resources, mental and physical exhaustion, understanding of the problem, and goal congruence, as well as attributes of the problem being addressed. Ideation quality is measured in the literature using a number of approaches which diverge to differing research conclusions, even when applied to the same data set. We use a Monte Carlo simulation to demonstrate conditions under which some of these measures exhibit a bias. We present theoretical and methodological arguments to support our call for future ideation research to shift its focus from quantity to quality by focusing on the cognitive factors that influence ideation quality and using unbiased measures of ideation quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruce A. Reinig & Robert O. Briggs, 2013. "Putting Quality First in Ideation Research," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 943-973, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:grdene:v:22:y:2013:i:5:d:10.1007_s10726-012-9338-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10726-012-9338-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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