Saturday, September 27, 2025

Businesses unintentionally discourage diverse ideas

Businesses influence the ideas they receive from external contributors by unintentionally signalling which ideas they like, finds research from ESMT Berlin and INSEAD. This leads to a narrow set of non-diverse ideas.

Professor Linus Dahlander from ESMT Berlin, alongside Professor Henning Piezunka and PhD candidate Sanghyun Park from INSEAD, analysed 1.44 million ideas to understand how organisations unknowingly shape the ideas they receive. Data came from organisations that asked visitors how they could improve their websites before choosing which ideas to use. Chosen ideas were communicated for all to see.

The analysis reveals that organisations with higher consistency in selection tended to favour similar ideas. Over time, contributors adjusted their proposals to align more closely with perceived organisational preferences, enhancing their likelihood of acceptance but also resulting in reduced diversity in the ideas submitted. Individuals who felt their ideas were less likely to be selected gradually ceased making suggestions. Consequently, while the relevance of the ideas submitted may have increased, their diversity diminished.

The researchers also found that idea diversity increased when new contributors, less aware of past organisational choices, made suggestions. Increased diversity of ideas was also observed after established contributors, who would have been influenced by earlier selections, stopped suggesting. However, when contributors interacted more, attention to a company’s preferences heightened, causing an increase in similar ideas.

Professor Dahlander explains: “The result of external searches often yields a more limited set of ideas than commonly perceived, representing a trade-off between fit and diversity. Organisations tend to favour ideas that align closely with their current interests, which can be beneficial.” He adds: “However, this preference for fit can incur costs: it may prevent organisations from encountering ideas that diverge from their usual practices, inadvertently narrowing the creative scope of external contributors. By not constructively engaging with diverse perspectives, organisations risk losing access to innovative ideas and may miss out on pivotal breakthroughs.”

As interactions among external contributors direct their attention toward existing ideas and away from novel ones, managers seeking diverse ideas may benefit from limiting interactions among external contributors. Reducing the visibility of ideas selected could also prevent contributors being influenced by what they think companies want.

These findings were published in the Academy of Management Journal.

Latest

The art of negotiating with different personality styles

Expert and author Paul Grant examines the dos and...

Unmissable reads from the Business Book Awards 2025

The winners of the Business Book Awards 2025 were...

National Coding Week: Demystifying the changing face of software development

To mark National Coding Week, a panel of experts...

UK financial services firms face growing challenge on background checks

Over the last 12 months, a quarter of financial...

Subscribe To Our Content

Don't miss

The art of negotiating with different personality styles

Expert and author Paul Grant examines the dos and...

Unmissable reads from the Business Book Awards 2025

The winners of the Business Book Awards 2025 were...

National Coding Week: Demystifying the changing face of software development

To mark National Coding Week, a panel of experts...

UK financial services firms face growing challenge on background checks

Over the last 12 months, a quarter of financial...

Mendix and Snowflake: The perfect team for holistic industrial technology solutions   

Low-code platform Mendix has continued its collaboration with Snowflake...

The art of negotiating with different personality styles

Expert and author Paul Grant examines the dos and don'ts of negotiation, and explains why understanding different personalities can help you adapt your approach...

Unmissable reads from the Business Book Awards 2025

The winners of the Business Book Awards 2025 were celebrated at an Annual Gala Dinner in Wembley on September 10th. Here, we present a...

National Coding Week: Demystifying the changing face of software development

To mark National Coding Week, a panel of experts explore the increasing influence of AI, and how developers and students alike should approach this...

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here