The choice is yours: The role of cognitive processes for IT-supported idea selection

Abstract

The selection of good ideas out of hundreds or even thousands has proven to be the next big challenge for organizations that conduct open idea contests for innovation. Cognitive load and attention loss hinder crowds to effectively run their idea selection process. Facilitation techniques for the reduction and clarification of ideas could help with such problems, but have not yet been researched in crowd settings that are prevalent in idea contests. This research-in-progress paper aims to contribute to this research gap by investigating IT-supported selection techniques that differ in terms of selection direction and selection type. A laboratory experiment using eye-tracking will investigate variations in selection type and selection direction. Moreover, the experiment will test the effects on the decision-making process and the number and quality of ideas in a filtered set. Findings will provide explanations why certain mechanisms work for idea selection. Potential implications for theory and practice are discussed.