Novelty-seeking might underlie curiosity and the novelty dimension of creativity, but not the usefulness dimension

We question the perspective that curiosity and creativity stem from a shared novelty- seeking process. We emphasize that creativity has two distinct dimensions: novelty and usefulness, each involving separate cognitive processes. These dimensions may not necessarily mutually reinforce each other. We contend that a more comprehensive model that encompasses the full scope of the creativity construct is needed

Knowledge Distance, Cognitive-Search Processes, and Creativity: The Making of Winning Solutions in Science Contests

Prior research has provided conflicting arguments and evidence about whether people who are outsiders or insiders relative to a knowledge domain are more likely to demonstrate scientific creativity in that particular domain. We propose that the nature of the relationship between creativity and the distance of an individual’s expertise from a knowledge domain depends on his or her cognitive processes of problem solving (i.e., cognitive-search effort and cognitive-search variation). In an analysis of 230 solutions generated in a science contest platform, we found that distance was positively associated with creativity when problem solvers engaged in a focused search (i.e., low cognitive-search variation) and exerted a high level of cognitive effort. People whose expertise was close to a knowledge domain, however, were more likely to demonstrate creativity in that domain when they drew on a wide variety of different knowledge elements for recombination (i.e., high cognitive-search variation) and exerted substantial cognitive effort

Creativity and Innovation under Constraints: A Cross-Disciplinary Integrative Review

Generating creative ideas and turning them into innovations is key for competitive advantage. However, endeavors toward creativity and innovation are bounded by constraints such as rules and regulations, deadlines, and scarce resources. The effect of constraints on creativity and innovation has attracted substantial interest across the fields of strategic management, entrepreneurship, industrial organization, technology and operations management, organizational behavior, and marketing. Research in these fie ds has focused on various constraints that trigger distinct mediating mechanisms but is fragmented and yields conflicting findings. We develop a taxonomy of constraints and mediating mechanisms and provide an integrative synthesis that explains how constraints impact creativity and innovation. Our review thus facilitates cross-disciplinary learning and sets the stage for further theoretical development

Choosing Among Alternative New Product Development Projects: The Role of Heuristics

The initial screening decision that marketing managers make is critical. It requires the selection of which innovation project to invest in, which is fundamental to marketing success. However, our knowledge of how managers make these decisions and how this impacts performance is limited. By drawing upon cognitive psychology and the managerial decision-making literature, we address two critical questions. The first question focuses on identifying specific decisionmaking types (e.g., specific heuristics, intuition) used when making an innovation-screening decision. Based on this analysis and prior research, we develop specific decision-maker profiles about how an individual manager decides. The second research question is about connecting these profiles with performance. Specifically, it addresses what the consequences of different decision-maker profiles are on the perceived accuracy and speed of decision-making? Data were collected from 122 senior managers in these industries. We find that when heuristics are used alone, or concurrently with intuition, managers make decisions that are as accurate as when they rely on analytical decision-making. However, the process is significantly faster. The findings provide an important step towards a more comprehensive understanding of decisionmaking at the front-end of innovation

Understanding fear of opportunism in global prize-based science contests: Evidence for gender and age differences

Global prize-based science contests have great potential for tapping into diverse knowledge on a global scale and overcoming important scientific challenges. A necessary step for knowledge to be utilized in these contests is for that knowledge to be disclosed. Knowledge disclosure, however, is paradoxical in nature: in order for the value of knowledge to be assessed, inventors must disclose their knowledge, but then the person who receives that knowledge does so at no cost and may use it opportunistically. This risk of potential opportunistic behavior in turn makes the inventor fearful of disclosing knowledge, and this is a major psychological barrier to knowledge disclosure. In this project, we investigated this fear of opportunism in global prize-based science contests by surveying 630 contest participants in the InnoCentive online platform for science contests. We found that participants in these science contests experience fear of opportunism to varying degrees, and that women and older participants have significantly less fear of disclosing their scientific knowledge. Our findings highlight the importance of taking differences in such fears into account when designing global prize-based contests so that the potential of the contests for reaching solutions to important and challenging problems can be used more effectively

Business capabilities for industrial firms: A bibliometric analysis of research diffusion and impact within and beyond Industrial Marketing Management

An extensive body of work investigates business phenomena from the capability perspective introduced by Teece, Pisano, and Shuen (1997). While several literature reviews on capabilities exist, research is still fragmented with ongoing debates between those trying to foster relevance and passionate critics in favour of rigour. This study contributes to the conversation by looking at how the community of scholars gathered around Industrial Marketing Management (IMM) has engaged with this body of work and, in turn, influenced other sub-communities. Specifically, using the CitNetExplorer software, we analyse all IMM capabilities-related publications and their direct influence on other journals. The findings unveil seven thematic clusters that highlight how IMM scholars have expanded capability research by deepening the understanding of its relational foundations. Our data not only reinforce prior warnings about weak validity but also uncover signs that suggest that the IMM community is on a path of theoretical consolidation with potential benefits for the broader conversation