Developing Scales for Product Creativity and Organisational

Innovation

Associate Professor David Cropleydavid.cropley@unisa.edu.au

ECCIXII – Panel 4 – Creativity and Innovation Measures

IntroductionCreativity: the ability to produce outcomes that are novel, high in quality and appropriate to the task.Outcomes = products, services, systems, processes.Creative products drive innovation.How do we measure creativity in products?How do we measure an organisation’s innovation?

Generic Innovation Process

Idea Generation

Opportunity Recognition

Idea Evaluation

Development

Commercialization

Exploitation

Invention (creativity)

Based on Luecke & Katz, 2003, Managing Creativity and Innovation,Harvard Business School Press

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Measuring Product Creativity

Indirect measurement, global judgement/criterion-based measurement.Can be domain-general or domain-specific.Rating Scales:

Creative Product Semantic Scale (CPSS)Student Product Assessment Form (SPAF)

Expert Judgement:Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT)

Indicators of Creativity

What observable characteristics of products exist?“Novelty”, “effectiveness”, “elegance” are constructs, in the same sense as “intelligence”.What do we actually measure, and how, that tell us something about these constructs?Indicators = observable characteristics.

Indicators of Creativity

There are a variety of existing models, scales and other “measures” of creativity.Our research draws on a cross-section of these to find indicators for the four characteristics: effectiveness, novelty, elegance and genesis.

Criterion of Creativity Kind of Solution Property of the Solution Indicator

Relevance & Effectiveness Routine Solution displays knowledge of existing facts and principles and satisfies the

requirement in the problem statement

CORRECTNESS (the solution accurately reflects conventional knowledge and/or techniques)PERFORMANCE (the solution does what it is supposed to do)

APPROPRIATENESS (the solution fits within task constraints)

OPERABILITY (the solution is easy to use)SAFETY (the solution is safe to use)DURABILITY (the solution is reasonably strong)

Novelty Original Problematization (solution draws attention to problems in what already

exists)

DIAGNOSIS (the solution draws attention to shortcomings in other existing solutions)PRESCRIPTION (the solution shows how existing solutions could be improved)PROGNOSIS (the solution helps the beholder to anticipate likely effects of changes)

Solution adds to existing knowledgeREPLICATION (the solution uses existing knowledge to generate novelty)COMBINATION (the solution makes use of new mixture(s) of existing elements)INCREMENTATION (the solution extends the known in an existing direction)

Solution develops new knowledgeREDIRECTION (the solution shows how to extend the known in a new direction)RECONSTRUCTION (the solution shows that an approach previously abandoned is still useful)

REINITIATION (the solution indicates a radically new approach)

REDEFINITION (the solution helps the beholder see new and different ways of using the solution)

GENERATION (the solution offers a fundamentally new perspective on possible solutions)

Elegance Elegant Solution strikes observers as beautiful (external elegance)

RECOGNITION (the beholder sees at once that the solution “makes sense”)CONVINCINGNESS (the beholder sees the solution as skillfully executed, well-finished)

PLEASINGNESS (the beholder finds the solution neat, well done)

Solution is well worked out and hangs together (internal elegance)

COMPLETENESS (the solution is well worked out and “rounded”)

GRACEFULNESS (the solution well-proportioned, nicely formed)

HARMONIOUSNESS (the elements of the solution fit together in a consistent way) SUSTAINABILITY (the solution is environmentally friendly)

Genesis Innovative Ideas in the solution go beyond the immediate situation

FOUNDATIONALITY (the solution suggests a novel basis for further work)TRANSFERABILITY (the solution offers ideas for solving apparently unrelated problems)GERMINALITY (the solution suggests new ways of looking at existing problems)SEMINALITY (the solution draws attention to previously unnoticed problems)VISION (the solution suggests new norms for judging other solutions-existing or new)PATHFINDING (the solution opens up a new conceptualization of the issues)

Recognising Creativity

Regardless of the indicators chosen, and their theoretical basis, a key point is that they need to be recognisable to observers.In other words, if I define “incrementation” (the solution extends the known in an existing direction) as an indicator of novelty, can a person recognise that quality in a product?

Recognising Creativity

There are several ways that we can determine if these indicators are recognisable by observers.

Obvious is: give them to people and ask them to use them.

Over the last 12 months my research has shown that the CSDS scale is highly reliable and valid measure of product creativity.

Why Measure Product Creativity?

What benefits derive from an ability to measure the creativity of products?What advantages does the CSDS have over other less differentiated measures?

Measuring Organisational Innovation

Organisational Innovation occurs across a series of phases.What happens in each phase is determined by at least six cognitive, social and psychological dimensions.If we put these together, we have a model of the innovation process.

Innovation Phase ModelInvention Exploitation

Phase PreparationKnowledge,

problem recognition

ActivationProblem

definition, refinement

GenerationMany

candidate solutions

IlluminationA few promising

solutions

VerificationA single optimal

solution

CommunicationA working prototype

ValidationA successful

‘product’Dimension Poles

ProcessThinking Style

Convergent vs

Divergent

Convergent

Divergent Divergent

Convergent ConvergentMixed

Convergent

MotivationReactive

vsProactive

MixedProactive Proactive Proactive

MixedReactive Reactive

Personal Properties

Adaptive vs

Innovative

Adaptive

Innovative Innovative Innovative

Adaptive Adaptive Adaptive

FeelingsConserving

vsGenerative

Conserving

Generative Generative Generative

Conserving Conserving Conserving

ProductPhase output

Routinevs

Creative

Routine

Creative Creative Creative

Routine Routine Routine

PressOrganisational

climate

High Demand vs

Low Demand

High

Low Low Low

High High High

Innovation Phase Model

A key feature of this model that distinguishes it from other models of innovation is the dynamic pattern of dimensions that facilitate innovation in any given phase.What’s good for innovation in one phase may actually inhibit innovation in another phase.

Innovation Phase ModelInvention Exploitation

Phase PreparationKnowledge,

problem recognition

ActivationProblem

definition, refinement

GenerationMany

candidate solutions

IlluminationA few promising

solutions

VerificationA single optimal

solution

CommunicationA working prototype

ValidationA successful

‘product’Dimension Poles

ProcessThinking Style

Convergent vs

Divergent

Convergent

Divergent Divergent

Convergent ConvergentMixed

Convergent

MotivationReactive

vsProactive

MixedProactive Proactive Proactive

MixedReactive Reactive

Personal Properties

Adaptive vs

Innovative

Adaptive

Innovative Innovative Innovative

Adaptive Adaptive Adaptive

FeelingsConserving

vsGenerative

Conserving

Generative Generative Generative

Conserving Conserving Conserving

ProductPhase output

Routinevs

Creative

Routine

Creative Creative Creative

Routine Routine Routine

PressOrganisational

climate

High Demand vs

Low Demand

High

Low Low Low

High High High

The Innovation Phase Assessment Instrument (IPAI)

The IPAI is an instrument that is based on the Innovation Phase Model presented here.Currently uses 168 questions (7 phases, 6 dimensions, and 4 questions per node) to assess an organisation’s profile.Strengths and weaknesses identified and serve as the basis for fostering and improving organisational innovation.

IPAIThe questions are all preceded by the stem “In this organisation...”

“... staff avoid novel solutions to problems.”“... staff produce lots of ideas.”

Each question is compared to the theoretical “ideal” answer.This results in a score /168. The higher, the more aligned is the organisation to the ideal profile for facilitating innovation in all phases.

IPAI Output Examplelo 19.01 17.68 16.34

hi 19.01 17.68 16.34

Prep Act Gen Illm Veri Comm Val S O T W

Process 2.59 2.88 1.88 2.59 3.12 1.94 2.35 17.35

Motivation 2.29 3.24 2.65 3.35 3.82 3.35 1.41 20.12

Pers Props 2.59 1.82 2.12 2.41 2.41 3.24 2.76 17.35

Feelings 2.06 2.65 2.94 2.00 2.94 2.71 2.06 17.35

Products 2.18 2.65 2.24 2.82 2.82 3.47 1.65 17.82

relative SWOT Press 2.24 2.24 1.41 2.18 2.35 2.94 2.71 16.06

17.68col avg

lo hi 13.94 15.47 13.24 15.35 17.47 17.65 12.94 15.15 106.06 total

17.06 S row avg

15.15 17.06 O

13.25 15.15 T

13.25 W

Std dev Row

1.90

st dev col

1.34

IPAI AnalysisThe IPAI allows us to examine an organisation, or a unit with an organisation, at one of four levels:

Overall profile – e.g. IPAI score = 110/168By phase – e.g. Verification strong, but Generation weak (in relative terms).By dimension – e.g. Motivation strong, but Press weak.By node – e.g. Gen/Press node weak, Ver/Mot node strong.

IPAI Analysis

We can then tailor diagnostic advice and remedial action on the basis of the organisation’s IPAI profile, resources and objectives.Let’s look again at the example…

IPAI Output Examplelo 19.01 17.68 16.34

hi 19.01 17.68 16.34

Prep Act Gen Illm Veri Comm Val S O T W

Process 2.59 2.88 1.88 2.59 3.12 1.94 2.35 17.35

Motivation 2.29 3.24 2.65 3.35 3.82 3.35 1.41 20.12

Pers Props 2.59 1.82 2.12 2.41 2.41 3.24 2.76 17.35

Feelings 2.06 2.65 2.94 2.00 2.94 2.71 2.06 17.35

Products 2.18 2.65 2.24 2.82 2.82 3.47 1.65 17.82

relative SWOT Press 2.24 2.24 1.41 2.18 2.35 2.94 2.71 16.06

17.68col avg

lo hi 13.94 15.47 13.24 15.35 17.47 17.65 12.94 15.15 106.06 total

17.06 S row avg

15.15 17.06 O

13.25 15.15 T

13.25 W

Std dev Row

1.90

st dev col

1.34

IPAI AnalysisOverall profile (106/168):

“X” is moderately well-aligned to an ideal innovation profile. There is considerable room for improvement in a number of phases and dimensions, but…

By phase: X has distinct relative weaknesses in two phases:

Generation and Validation. The ideal constellations for these two phases are almost diametrically opposite, suggesting that X must improve its ability to recognise which phase is active, at any given time, and adapt accordingly.

IPAI AnalysisBy dimension:

X’s greatest weakness is its organisational environment (Press). This appears to be particularly weak in the generation phase, which is consistent with the identified phase weakness. To improve organisational environment across the board, the following actions are recommended…

By node:X presents several individual nodes which stand out

as blocks to effective innovation. The intersection of Generation/Press stands out as a weak node. Remedial action to address this weakness could…

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Why Measure Org Innovation?

Improve outcomes.Tailor/streamline activities to suit strengths.Remedial action to address weaknesses.Clarify goals and objectives.