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Updated: Sep 8, 2025
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The Innovation Arena: A Method for Comparing Innovative Problem-Solving Across Groups
Published on: May 13, 2022
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Why serendipitous informal knowledge sharing interactions are key to boundary spanning and creativity.
1Institute of Sociology, RWTH Aachen University, Eilfschornsteinstr. 7, 52062 Aachen, Germany E-mail: proth@soziologie.rwth-aachen.de; ORCID: 0000-0001-6260-2558.
Work (Reading, Mass.)
|June 13, 2022
Summary
Serendipitous Informal Knowledge Sharing Interactions (IKSI) are key for innovation, connecting distant partners for novel insights. Promoting these unplanned interactions boosts innovative capability, especially with remote work trends.
Area of Science:
- Knowledge Management
- Innovation Studies
- Organizational Behavior
Background:
- Informal Knowledge Sharing Interactions (IKSI) are crucial for innovation, especially when connecting diverse partners.
- Heterogeneous partners increase the likelihood of possessing non-redundant knowledge, fostering new perspectives.
- IKSI positively impact employee success, job satisfaction, and well-being in knowledge-intensive industries.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine the formation of Informal Knowledge Sharing Interactions (IKSI).
- Argue that serendipitous IKSI are more effective than planned IKSI in connecting heterogeneous partners.
- Demonstrate how serendipitous IKSI open up new perspectives for innovation.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized literature on IKSI formation and impact.
- Empirically tested the argument using 132 IKSI from developers.
- Utilized event-based diaries for data collection.
Main Results:
- Empirical analysis confirmed that serendipitous IKSI are more likely to open new perspectives than planned IKSI.
- Findings align with the conceptual framework developed in the study.
- Serendipitous interactions facilitate access to diverse and non-redundant knowledge.
Conclusions:
- Serendipitous IKSI are highly significant for enhancing innovative capability.
- Promoting serendipitous interactions is essential for organizations.
- The virtualization of work presents both opportunities and challenges for fostering serendipitous IKSI.
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