Why we Support some Original Ideas but Reject Others
An Application of Signaling Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21345249 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samuel T Hunter (0000-0002-2036-7681, University of Nebraska at Omaha, corresponding author), Lily D Blocker (0000-0003-4354-1897, Leadership and Creativity Research Lab), Melissa B Gutworth (0000-0003-4515-5105, Montclair State University), Julian Allen (Global Talent Management), Julian B Allen (Institut Mines-Télécom Business School) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 199-220 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Creative Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0175 • E-ISSN: 2162-6057 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/jocb.570 |
| OpenAlex | W4308043215 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 61 |
Although organizations say new ideas are desirable, investing in original products rather than the “tried and true” can be unsettling for decision‐makers. This discomfort may be due, in part, to uncertainty surrounding whether a new idea will prove successful. As such, the originality of a creative idea can be paradoxically viewed both as an asset, driving up appeal, as well as a detrimental risk. To help unpack these relationships, we propose that how an original idea is proposed (i.e., pitched) plays a central role in the support it receives. Guided by signaling theory we examined how pitch quality relates to funding for ideas with varying degrees of originality. In a field sample of 245 Kickstarter crowdfunding campaigns, pitch quality for ideas high in originality predicted investment in such ideas. In a follow‐up experimental study, we created high‐ and low‐quality pitches for two products, also varying product originality and product quality. Results highlight the importance of high‐quality pitches for highly original ideas that are associated with reductions in uncertainty. Supplemental analyses suggest that high‐quality pitches improve enthusiasm for a product as well, highlighting a potential second path of support influence
Appeal · Asset (computer security) · Business · Creativity · Enthusiasm · Epistemology · Originality · Political science · Product (mathematics) · Quality (philosophy) · Sample (material) · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital Finance · Law · Marketing · Mathematics · Philosophy · Private Equity and Venture Capital · Psychology · Social Psychology
Finding Creativity by Changing Perspectives
Malevolent Creativity as Parochial Altruism? Examining the Intergroup Bases of New and Harmful Ideas
What Makes an Idea Risky? The Relations between Perceptions of Idea Novelty, Usefulness, and Risk
Greater variability in judgements of the value of novel ideas
The Effect of Novelty and Usefulness on Creative Idea Adoption
Idea readability and complexity in online user innovation communities
Designing Experiments That Generalize
Attention by design
Explaining the justice–performance relationship
Probing three-way interactions in moderated multiple regression
Signaling in Retrospect and the Informational Structure of Markets
Selling Issues to Top Management
On doing relevant and rigorous experiments
Methodological Urban Legends
When fairness works
The Bias Against Creativity
Uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety
Signaling Theory
Risk as Analysis and Risk as Feelings
The psychology of interpersonal relations.
Moderation in Management Research
Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect
Construing creativity
Social psychology of creativity
Aesthetic appraisal of product designs
Most advanced, yet acceptable
Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and moderator effects
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |