Understanding the Processes of Online Creative Interaction – Toward a Research Agenda

There is currently a strong belief in Information and Communication Technologies’ (ICT) ability to enable innovation. However, there is little knowledge about the creative processes that may occur through the mediation of ICT and consequently lead to innovation. Prior studies have shown that creativity is central when studying innovation and that creativity can be seen as a social process. Since computers often are used as mediators for human communication and as a social tool, ICT harbors a potential to enable the social processes of creative interaction. The aim of this paper is therefore to map key concepts and research that relate to online creative interactions. Hence, prior research in the IS field regarding creativity is presented, the concepts of computer-mediated communication and creativity are explored and a possible case to study is suggested. Subsequently, a research agenda is outlined, followed by some methodological considerations and a reflection on the expected knowledge contribution of the research

TIPExtop: An Exploratory Design Tool for Emergency Planning

ABSTRACT Emergency planning is an ongoing activity in which a multidisciplinary group of experts intermittently collaborate to define the most appropriate response to risks. One of the most important tasks of emergency planning is risk reduction. Such a task compiles the analysis of capabilities to face an emergency, the prioritizing of activities, and the definition of procedures and strategies. It is therefore a reflection process based on exchanging information between planners and exploring alternatives. Despite the exploration of alternatives is an especially relevant activity to design better plans, recent research on computer-mediated collaborative tools for planning do not usually offer support for this activity. Thus, with the purpose of supporting reflection during the development of risk reduction tasks, this paper presents an exploratory design tool that allow planners to assess the space of alternatives and the underlying information related those alternatives. This planning tool will help planners to examine and contextualize information, allowing them to define more suitable response strategies

Towards a Creative Virtual Environment for Design Thinking

Background: Digital transformation changes collaboration processes, particularly in rapidly digitalizing countries like ASEAN states. Co-creation and innovation processes become increasingly flexible and time and location independent. But virtual collaboration faces context-specific challenges like technical problems, lack of social presence, and ambiguous attitudes towards autonomy and accountability. Therefore, this study addresses two research questions to contribute to designing a creative virtual environment: First, which Design Principles (DPs) should be prioritized in designing a user-centered creative virtual environment? Second, which Design Features (DFs) effectively implement the DPs in creative virtual collaboration from a user perspective? Method: A user-centered Design Science Research approach was chosen to identify, implement and evaluate DPs and DFs. DPs were derived from theories on creativity drivers in five areas: functionality, process, mood, meaning, and collaboration. The DPs were implemented in a virtual design thinking workshop at a German international university. A qualitative thematic analysis evaluated user feedback from 38 international students from Asia, Africa, America, and Europe. Results: Insights from user feedback indicate that seven DPs should be prioritized and effectively implemented in a virtual environment for creative collaboration: (1) Provide rich, appropriate resources to inspire creative thinking; (2) Technical problems and connectivity issues must be anticipated and mitigated; (3) The environment must foster social presence and interaction, and (4) effective communication and visualization; (5) Methods and technologies must be adapted to the creative process and individual needs; (6) The group work benefits from structured but flexible tasks and time management support; (7) Provide space for individual work that allows autonomy and solitary contemplation. Conclusion: A tailored setup that adapts to context-specific challenges distinct from the on-site collaboration is necessary to facilitate creative virtual collaboration. The study results apply and expand current theories on technology utilization and inform the practical design of a virtual environment for creative collaboration

The Relationship Between Interaction Patterns on an Online Idea Generation Community and the Implementation of Ideas

The purpose of the study was to investigate a socially-networked online idea-generation community. Specifically, the study examined the specific interaction patterns on an online social network and the emergence of ideas. Using social-network analysis, the interaction among the network participants was studied. This analysis included examining the relationships among the network participants in the generation and implementation of ideas. Comparisons were made between networks with ideas that were implemented and those that were not. The findings revealed that activities on the community can be expressed from a network perspective and that insights were found about participant relationships and positions in the networks. Differences among participants with respect to idea implementability were found between the networks. Also, the idea networks were consistent with the behavior of a complex adaptive entity. Based on the findings, practical implications for action for professional and academic disciplines were presented

MCubed: The Formation and Output of Incentivized Interdisciplinary Collaborations.

Interdisciplinary collaboration involves many challenges. Simply finding researchers with the complementary expertise necessary to answer certain research questions can be a challenge. Once researchers find collaborators, differences in tacit disciplinary knowledge can make communication and agreement on research approaches difficult. Adding to these difficulties are the accepted norms regarding the theoretical and methodological approaches to research of the institutions surrounding various disciplines, such as university departments and publication venues. It should come as no surprise that conflicting evidence exists regarding the effect of interdisciplinary collaboration, with some studies showing benefits and others suggesting that the costs outweigh the benefits. This study uses a mixed methods approach to understand how these challenges affected the interdisciplinary projects funded by the MCubed initiative at the University of Michigan. Many researchers who participated in MCubed found their collaborators through existing professional networks, rather than the MCubed website. While prior interactions appeared to strongly influence the researchers chosen for collaboration on MCubed projects, those prior interactions did not appear to influence output from those projects. The use of certain technical tools—specifically, shared file repositories—was positively correlated to certain types of project output. The degree of institutional financial support—both within a department and the funding available to various disciplines—played a large part in both the decision to collaborate on a project and the output from a project. Each research project can produce a wide range of outputs. The perceived value of that output is greatly influenced by the norms of each discipline, as evidenced by individual departments and larger disciplinary institutions, such as funding agencies and publication venues. Moreover, disciplinary similarity was positively correlated to peer-reviewed project output. These findings suggest that the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration are a matter of perception and degree.PhDInformationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116723/1/kkervin_1.pd

IT-Gestützte Kollaborative Kreativität

Companies and organizations must constantly evolve in order to stay competitive in the marketplace. An important role is played by innovations that ensure this continuous corporate success. Producing innovations depends strongly on creativity, which is why active support makes sense and is worthwhile. Creativity can be supported by information technology and is most effective in teams and groups. Collaboration and the consideration of different collaboration mechanisms play an equally important role in this context as the active support by information technology. This dissertation deals with the question of how information systems can be designed in order to use information technology to actively support creativity and that collaborative creativity processes are promoted. With the help of a systematic literature review, current creativity support systems were examined and the necessity of research was explained. A design-oriented approach was then used to develop and evaluate various approaches that address the research question. A total of 25 scientific articles were produced, five of which are included in this dissertation. Various conducted studies show the additional value of active support through information technology and provide design guidelines for better support of collaborative creativity.Unternehmen und Organisationen müssen sich ständig weiterentwickeln, um am Markt beständig zu sein und geschäftsfähig zu bleiben. Eine wichtige Rolle sind Innovationen, die diesen kontinuierlichen Unternehmenserfolg sicherstellen. Innovationen zu produzieren hängt stark von Kreativität ab, weshalb eine aktive Unterstützung sinnvoll und lohnenswert ist. Kreativität kann dabei durch Informationstechnik unterstützt werden und entfaltet vor allem in Teams und Gruppen ihre größte Wirkung. Kollaboration und die Betrachtung unterschiedlicher Kollaborationsmechanismen spielt in diesem Kontext gleichermaßen eine wichtige Rolle, wie die aktive Unterstützung durch Informatikstechnik. Die vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Fragestellung, wie Informationssysteme gestaltet werden können, um einerseits Informationstechnik so einzusetzen, dass sie aktiv Kreativität unterstützt, andererseits so gestaltet werden sollte, dass kollaborative Kreativitätsprozesse gefördert werden. Mit Hilfe einer systematischen Literaturanalyse wurden dabei aktuelle Kreativitätsunterstützungsysteme untersucht und die Notwendigkeit der Forschung dargelegt. Mit einem gestaltungsorientierten Vorgehen wurden daraufhin unterschiedliche Ansätze entwickelt und evaluiert, die die Fragestellung adressieren. Dabei sind insgesamt 25 wissenschaftliche Artikel entstanden, von welchen fünf in diese Dissertation eingebunden sind. Unterschiedliche durchgeführte Studien zeigen daraufhin den Mehrwert von aktiver Unterstützung durch Informationstechnik auf und geben Gestaltungsrichtlinien zur besseren Unterstützung von kollaborativer Kreativität