Interactive Ideation: Online Team-Based Idea Generation versus Traditional Brainstorming

Abstract

Social media and social collaborative platforms are becoming ever more integrated into our lives at all levels. Past research has shown electronic brainstorming and idea generation can be viable options when compared to traditional methods. Building on existing research into the benefits and challenges of ideating through online environments, this study asks if an established collaborative planning platform can be more conducive to generating a high quantity of ideas and high-quality ideas than traditional methods. In this context, the number of ideas generated, the quality of ideas as rated by participants and experts, and group success building upon ideas are evaluated as metrics. The two conditions are compared on performance in an idea generation session. The analysis demonstrated that idea generation through the digital platform Slack, compared to traditional brainstorming, produced more ideas, approximately twice as many high-quality ideas as rated by experts, and nearly twice as much building upon ideas. The results of the study suggest existing online social platforms are viable options for conducting idea generation in small groups and provide an option for collaboration without meeting in person.