Lawrence McGrath
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McGrath
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Lawrence
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+41 71 224 2776

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

2016-10 , McGrath, Lawrence , Bresciani, Sabrina , Eppler, Martin J.

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.

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What You See is What you Get : The Impact of Visual Perceived Finishedness (PF) on Collaboration Comments during Electronic Idea Generation

2015-07-21 , McGrath, Lawrence

Micro-level visual phenomena significantly impact visually-supported interactions, and require further exploration. This study uses a laboratory experiment with managerial participants to examine the impact of typeface appearance on number of comments concerning collaboration process during use of an electronic ideation platform. The typefaces verifiably differed on perceived finishedness (PF) level. Low typeface PF was expected to lead to freer, more frequent interaction on the collaboration process. Contrary to expectations, this study found that participant familiarity with the high PF typeface led to a significant increase in the amount of collaboration process comments. This study examines the complementary new ideation metric of collaboration comment number in light of the benefits social metacognition can bring to the structuring of group creativity processes.

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Pairwise Communication for Innovation at Work

2016 , Eppler, Martin J. , McGrath, Lawrence

In this chapter, we argue for the overlooked potential of dyadic (pairwise) communication for innovation efforts in organizations. We review the research that documents that pairs outperform other team constellations when it comes to idea development and refinement. We describe how to setup and optimize such dyadic communication so that it can contribute to organizational innovation. In the chapter, we give readers a strategy to leverage teams of two for innovation efforts, and we show how managers can enable pairwise communication. Cornerstone of the chapter are a concise and instructive typology of creative pairs as well as guidelines for their setup, management and transition. We conclude the chapter with an outlook on future research on dyadic communication for innovation.

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Publication

No Pain, No Gain

2015-05-27 , McGrath, Lawrence

The SDC Learning & Networking Blog is about sharing and learning. Every speaker and participant at the 2015 Leaders Forum wanted to both share and learn beyond the forum's rapid-fire 15 minute presentation format. Sharing and learning require a degree of courage and persistence. At the outset of the dialogue, Doris Leuthard and Yolanda Kakabadse explicitly instructed all participants to discard bashfulness and "Be a pain" to senior speakers and officials during breaks. This open invitation to debate was enthusiastically accepted and insight-fuelled discussions coursed throughout the corridors during breaks.

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When Pairing Reduces Scaring : The Effect of Dyadic Ideation on Evaluation Apprehension

2015-07-01 , McGrath, Lawrence

The formation of idea generation groups through the combination of dyads, rather than individuals, is examined. The results show that pairwise group structuring is an effective method by which to reduce evaluation apprehension within idea generation groups composed of managerial participants in a controlled experimental environment. The integration of solitary ideators into an interactive group in nominal group technique (NGT) is shown to be problematic in terms of participants' evaluation apprehension. The study's sample consisted of 72 middle and upper managers from a broad range of functions and industries. This demographic is heavily involved with cross-functional collaboration in industry. The results open up a new research area and suggest that pairwork within groups be leveraged to optimise creativity in groups by addressing common problems such as evaluation apprehension, the common knowledge effect, hidden profile and free riding.

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Cognitive Antifreeze : The Visual Inception of Fluid Sociomaterial Interactions for Knowledge Creation

2014-11-21 , McGrath, Lawrence , Torre, Teresina , Braccini, Alessio Maria , Spinelli, Riccardo

This pilot study investigates the idea generation process of ad-hoc pairs using external visualisations for divergent thought. The study's objective is to examine whether the perceived possibility to change visual representations of ideas impacts the cognitive persistence of pairs. A 2x2 factorial experiment with active middle to upper level management participants which operationalised the perceived changeability, or fluidity, of visual objects through manipulation of dyads' worksheet template and writing instruments was employed. The results indicate that participants' cognitive persistence towards creative thought generation is impacted upon a sociomaterial interaction. This study finds that dyads' perceived fluidity of writing instrument moderates dyads' perceived fluidity of worksheets' effect on cognitive persistence. The materials socially used by dyads influence their creativity-inhibiting need to seize upon an idea and steadfastly remain frozen to it. Fluid visual representations function as an effective cognitive antifreeze.

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Cognitive Antifreeze : The Visual Inception of Fluid Sociomaterial Interactions for Knowledge Creation

2015 , McGrath, Lawrence , Torre, Teresina , Braccini, Alessio Maria , Spinelli, Riccardo

This pilot study investigates the idea generation process of ad-hoc pairs using external visualisations for divergent thought. The study's objective is to examine if pairs' perceived possibility to change the external visualisations of their ideas affects how deeply they explore cognitive categories. The depth of cognitive category exploration is known as cognitive persistence. A 2x2 factorial experiment with active middle to upper level management participants was employed. The experiment operationalised the perceived changeability, or fluidity, of visual objects through manipulation of pairs' worksheet template and writing instruments. For the writing instrument, pencils operationalised high perceived changeability, and pens operationalised low perceived changeability. For the worksheet template, blank sheets operationalised high perceived changeability, and pre-printed mindmaps operationalised low perceived changeability. The results indicate that a sociomaterial interaction impacts upon participants' cognitive persistence. This study finds that cognitive persistence is highest amongst pairs using a consistently high perceived changeability pencil/blank worksheet combination. Conversely pairs using a high perceived changeability pencil with a low perceived changeability pre-printed mindmap display the lowest cognitive persistence. The materials pairs note ideas with together influence their need to seize upon an idea. Such seizure reduces cognitive persistence. Fluid visual representations function as an effective cognitive antifreeze.

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Publication

The Power of Provisionality : An Experimental Evaluation of Idea Appearance in Online Knowledge Creation

2015-10-21 , McGrath, Lawrence , Lindstaedt, Stefanie , Ley, Tobias , Sack, Harald

The software known as creativity support systems (CSS) have become a critical catalyst of the knowledge creation process. Nonaka and Konno integrated CSS into wider knowledge management processes with the concept of ba. Ba are shared spaces in which relationships between knowledge and individuals can develop. This study finds that minor changes to the appearance of icons users interact with in CSS impact user knowledge creation dialogue. Under laboratory conditions, this study uses a 2x2 factorial experiment to investigate the impact of icon and typeface appearance on the idea generation processes of 37 pairs of active managers within a synchronous CSS. Participants used icons which differed on their appearance of finishedness to enter ideas into a shared working space. Some icons looked like rough first drafts, others looked perfectly complete and refined. Participants initial ideas were equally unripe but the icons created different levels of perceived finishedness (PF). Participant ideas were also displayed on-screen using a typeface which was either easy or difficult to cognitively process. Icon PF and typeface processing difficulty level had a crossover interaction effect. A low PF icon and an easy-to-process typeface resulted in more original ideas. Conversely, a high PF icon and a difficult-to-process typeface resulted in less original ideas. These findings and their implications are discussed in terms of enabling spaces, or ba, semantic memory, and difficulty of information processing.

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Publication

Pairwise Communication for Innovation at Work

2017 , Eppler, Martin J. , McGrath, Lawrence , Pfeffermann, Nicole , Gould, Julie

In this chapter, we argue for the overlooked potential of pairwise communication for innovation efforts in organizations. We review the research that documents that pairs outperform other team constellations when it comes to idea development and refinement. We describe how to setup and optimize such dyadic communication so that it can contribute to organizational innovation. In the chapter, we give readers a strategy to leverage teams of two for innovation efforts, and we show how managers can enable pairwise communication. Cornerstone of the chapter is a concise and instructive typology of creative pairs as well as guidelines for their setup, management, and transition. We conclude the chapter with an outlook on future research on dyadic communication for innovation.

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Publication

2015 Leaders Forum Highlights : Yves Daccord's Stakeholder Engagement Stories

2015-05-13 , McGrath, Lawrence

The Leaders Forum is an annual event bringing together thought leaders on sustainable development from businesses, NGOs, public organisations, social enterprises, universities and the general public. This year's event was held at the University of St. Gallen from February 5 to 7, and the focal point of discussions was multi-dimensional sustainability in Latin America. The first three speakers at this year's forum were Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, WWF President Yolanda Kakabadse and ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord. Following this thought-provoking beginning, the pace of fascination did not slacken.

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