Investigating Collaborative Innovation in a Virtual World Task

Abstract

While much has been written about the importance of innovation, there is still much to learn about the specific behaviours that lead to innovation among groups. In this paper we introduce a framework of innovation based on behaviours identified as being conducive to collaborative innovation. We also report on a study of a task designed to elicit innovation supportive behaviours in a virtual world environment. The task resulted in a variety of solutions and a range of participant behaviours, and specific behaviours were correlated with innovative solutions. Multiple forms of analysis provided unique insights into participant behaviour, and the combined set of analyses led to a richer understanding of participant behaviour than found through any individual analysis. The paper also presents implications for how organizations may scaffold group interactions to increase the chances of successful collaborative innovation.

Keywords: Innovation, Collaboration, Virtual Worlds, Log File Analysis, Word-Space Models