In today's networked economy, ideas that challenge existing business models and paradigms are becoming more important. This study investigated how individual differences, groupware-based creativity techniques, and ideas from others influenced the type of ideas that individuals generated. While individual differences were important (in that some individuals were inherently more likely to generate ideas that followed the existing problem paradigm while others were more likely to generate paradigm-modifying ideas that attempted to change the problem paradigm), the exposure to paradigm-modifying ideas from others and the use of intuitive groupware-based creativity techniques rather than analytical groupware-based creativity techniques were found to increase the number of paradigm-modifying ideas produced.
To compete in today's rapidly paced business environment, many companies are increasingly relying on their employees to generate creative solutions to business problems. Specifically, through the use of idea-generation techniques, business owners hope to promote creative idea generation by their employees. Several leading corporations (and, concomitantly, researchers) have become interested in the use of group support systems (GSS) to enhance idea generation. A key component of the GSS-based idea-generation process is group memory, a repository of ideas created by users of GSS. Group memory provides stimuli, in the form of ideas, to the individuals using the software. This study seeks to better understand the manner in which the contents of the group memory influence the type of ideas generated by individuals in the group. The authors report the results of a laboratory experiment that investigated whether the stimuli contained within a GSS group memory (i.e., ideas) systematically influenced the extent of paradigm shift represented in the ideas generated by individuals. A GSS simulator designed for this study was used to allow for the manipulation of the stimuli in the group memory. The results suggest that individuals tend to generate ideas that match the paradigm-relatedness of ideas provided to them as stimulation.
Consistent user interfaces across applications are thought to facilitate transfer of learning because a user can draw on existing knowledge when using a new application. But despite the interface consistency guidelines and standards that are based on transfer of learning assumptions, few studies have investigated the effects of interface consistency, especially when a user interacts with multiple applications. The user's knowledge of a computer application is often described as a mental model. This study tested whether the consistency of the user interface across applications affects mental-model development when a user learns and uses multiple applications. One hundred and fourteen participants learned two prototype cooperative work applications in a controlled laboratory setting. Interface consistency across applications was manipulated for two attributes commonly referred to in interface design guidelines: the visual appearance of the display screen and the action language syntax. As hypothesized, inconsistent action language syntax across applications resulted in more user actions to complete tasks. Inconsistent visual appearance, however, resulted in greater accuracy, which was surprising. This study provides support for the consistency guideline for action language syntax, but a distinctive visual appearance rather than a consistent one might help the user form more accurate mental models when initially learning multiple applications. Schema theory is used to explain both the expected and the unexpected results. Implications and promising research directions are proposed.