Enhancing creativity in group collaboration: How performance targets and feedback shape perceptions and idea generation performance

Xuequn Wang, Christoph Schneider, Joseph S. Valacich

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

As Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become established tools for communication, organizations increasingly use computer-mediated work groups to support various business processes and find creative solutions to organizational problems. In such a context, groups' creative performance can greatly contribute to organizational success. Previous literature has examined the influence of various factors on different outcomes of group collaboration. However, mechanisms through which creativity can be improved, and how to design ICT's interfaces to increase creativity have received little attention. In this study, we aim to understand the effects of two specific motivational affordances, namely, performance targets and performance feedback, on people's perceived competence and creativity within the context of computer-mediated collaboration. Using computer-mediated idea generation as an instantiation of collaboration systems, we test the effects of performance targets and different types of feedback on people's perceived competence and creativity in a controlled laboratory experiment. Our results show that the difficulty of performance targets and the type of performance feedback interact, influencing people's perceived competence, which in turn influences their creativity in group collaboration. We conclude our study with a discussion of implications for the design of human-computer interfaces for computer-mediated idea generation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)187-195
Number of pages9
JournalComputers in Human Behavior
Volume42
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2015

Keywords

  • Computer-mediated idea generation
  • Creativity
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Performance feedback
  • Performance targets
  • Self-determination theory

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Psychology(all)

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