Multiplicity and diversity: the key for innovation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23726/cij.2024.1476Keywords:
Innovation, Creativity, Multiplicity, Diversity, Challenge Based Innovation, Attract Academy, Experience LearningAbstract
This study explores the role of diversity in promoting learning innovation within educational courses teams. The focus is on the courses conducted under the ATTRACT Academy Umbrella; a co-innovation program funded by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Program. The sample consists of three educational courses involving students from Esade Business School, Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), and Telecom and Computer Science Engineers students from UPC. The study adopts a case study approach, collecting qualitative and quantitative data from 88 students. Preliminary findings suggest that integration of diversity positively influences creative and innovative outcomes. The study aims to contribute to the research on how diversity impact learning innovation. The limitations include the correlational nature of the analysis and the need for further generalization.
References
Amabile, TM (1983). The social psychology of creativity: A componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 357-376.
Amabile, TM (1988). A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 10, 123-167.
Ancona, D. G., & Caldwell, D. F. (1992). Demography and design: Predictors of new product team performance. Organization Science, 3(3), 321-341.
Auh, S., & Menguc, B. (2005). Top management team diversity and innovativeness: The moderating role of interfunctional coordination. Industrial Marketing Management, 34(3), 249-261.
Bailey, J., Read, J., Linder, B. & Neeley, L. (2021). Interdisciplinary team-based learning: An integrated opportunity recognition and evaluation model for teaching business, engineering, and design students. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, 4(2), 143-168.
Bantel, K. A., & Jackson, S. E. (1989). Top management and innovations in banking: Does the composition of the top team make a difference? Strategic Management Journal, 10(S1), 107-124.
Bouncken, R., Brem, A., & Kraus, S. (2016). Multi-cultural teams as sources for creativity and innovation: The role of cultural diversity on team performance. International Journal of Innovation Management, 20(01), 1650012.
Braun V, Clarke V., 2006, Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology, Qualitative Research in Psychology. 3: 77– 101.
Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard business review, 86(6), 84.
Cabrales, Á. L., Medina, C. C., Lavado, A. C., & Cabrera, R. V. (2008). Managing functional diversity, risk taking and incentives for teams to achieve radical innovations. R&D Management, 38, 35-50.
Carlgren, L., Elmquist, M., & Rauth, I. (2014). Design thinking: Exploring values and effects from an innovation capability perspective. The Design Journal, 17(3), 403- 423.
Castañer, X. (2016). Redefining creativity and innovation in organizations: Suggestings for redirecting research. International Journal of Innovation Management, 20(4), 1640001.
Chang, C.C., Yen, W.H. (2021). “The role of learning style in engineering design thinking via project-based STEM course”, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 1-19.
Charmaz, K., 2006, Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA.
Charosky, G., Leveratto, L., Hassi, L., Papageorgiou, K., Ramos-Castro, J., & Bragós, R. (2018). “Challenge based education: an approach to innovation through multidisciplinary teams of students using Design Thinking”, 2018 XIII Technologies Applied to Electronics Teaching Conference (TAEE), La Laguna: Spain, 1-8
Chowhan, J. (2016). Unpacking the black box: understanding the relationship between strategy, HRM practices, innovation and organizational performance. Human Resource Management Journal, 26(2), 112-133.
Dahlin, K. B., Weingart, L. R., & Hinds, P. J. (2005). Team diversity and information use. Academy of Management Journal, 48(6), 1107-1123.
Deo, S., et al., 2020, Creativity and engineering education: Assessing the impact of a multidisciplinary project course on engineering students' creativity, International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, American Society of Mechanical Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2020-22250
Díaz-García, C., González-Moreno, A., & Jose Sáez- Martínez, F. (2013). Gender diversity within R&D teams: Its impact on radicalness of innovation. Innovation, 15(2), 149-160.
Ely, R. J. (2004). A field study of group diversity, participation in diversity education programs, and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(6), 755-780.
Eppinger, S. D., & Kressy, M. S. (2002). Interdisciplinary product development education at MIT and RISD. Design Management Journal (Former Series), 13(3), 58-61.
Feng, X., & Björklund, T. (2022). Looking beyond your own speciality: student and faculty perceptions of collaboration opportunities. CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, 6(2), 20-27.
Flinterman, J., Teclemariam-Mesbah, R., & Broerse, J. (2001). Transdisciplinary: the new challenge for biomedical research. Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, 21, pp. 253-266.
Figueiredo, S., Ganoo, A., Eriksson, V., & Ekman, K. (2022). Future-ready skills development through Experiential Learning: perceptions from students working in
multidisciplinary teams. CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, 6(2), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.23726/cij.2022.1397
García-Rodríguez, F. J., Gil-Soto, E. & Ruiz-Rosa, I. (2012). New methods in university entrepreneurship education: A multidisciplinary teams approach. Creative Education, 3(06), 878.
Gassmann, O. (2001). Multicultural teams: Increasing creativity and innovation by diversity. Creativity and Innovation Management, 10(2), 88-95.
Hassi, L., Ramos-Castro, J., Leveratto, L., Kurikka, J.J., Charosky, G., Utriainen, T.M., Bragós, R., Nordberg, M. (2016). Mixing design, management and engineering students in challenge-based projects, in: Proceedings of the 12th International CDIO Conference.
Hero, L. M., & Lindfors, E. (2019). Students’ learning experience in a multidisciplinary innovation project. Education+ Training, 61(4), 500-522.
Holzer, A., Gillet, D., Laperrouza, M. (2018). “Active Interdisciplinary Learning in a Design Thinking Course: Going to Class for a Reason”, IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering, TALE 2018, Wollongong, Australia, 906- 911.
Jackson, M.C. (1991). Creative Problem Solving: Total Systems Intervention. In: Systems Methodology for the Management Sciences. Contemporary Systems Thinking. Springer, Boston, MA.
Klaassen, R. G. (2018). Interdisciplinary education: a case study, European Journal of Engineering Education, 43:6, 842-859. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2018.1442417
Klein, J. T. (1996). Crossing boundaries: Knowledge, disciplinarities, and interdisciplinarities. University of Virginia Press.
Kozlowski, S. W., & Ilgen, D. R. (2006). Enhancing the effectiveness of work groups and teams. Psychological science in the public interest, 7(3), 77-124.
Lahdenperä, J., Jussila, J., Järbenpää. A., & Jumisko-Pyykkö, S. (2022) Developing students innovation capability trough interdisciplinary producto development projects for industry. 1st Design Factory Global Network Research Conference Proceedings, Designing the Future 5-6 October, 2021.
Liedtka, J., & Ogilvie, T. (2011). Designing for growth: A design thinking tool kit for managers. Columbia University Press.
Meinel, C., Leifer, L., & Plattner, H. (2011). Design thinking: Understand-improve-apply (pp. 100-106). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.
Miron-Spektor, E., Erez, M., & Naveh, E. (2011). The effect of conformist and attentive-to-detail members on team innovation: Reconciling the innovation paradox. Academy of Management Journal, 54(4), 740-760.
Ojasalo, J., & Kaartti, V. (2021). Fostering learning with challenge-based innovation in higher education: case CERN Bootcamp. CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, 5(1), 11–21. https://doi.org/10.23726/cij.2021.1278
Papageorgiou, K., Hassi, L., Bragós, R., Charosky, G., Leveratto, L., & Ramos, J. (2021). Prototyping the future of learning: reflections after seven iterations of Challenge- Based Innovation (2014-2020). "CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation", 30 Juny 2021, vol. 5, núm. 1, p. 5-10.
Panke, S. (2019). “Design Thinking in Education: Perspectives, Opportunities and Challenges”, Open Education Studies, 1 (1), 281- 306.
Paulus, P. B., & Yang, H. C. (2000). Idea generation in groups: A basis for creativity in organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82(1), 76-87.
Sethi, R., Smith, D. C., & Park, C. W. (2001). Cross- functional product development teams, creativity, and the innovativeness of new consumer products. Journal of Marketing Research, 38(1), 73-85.
Shin, S. J., & Zhou, J. (2007). When is educational specialization heterogeneity related to creativity in research and development teams? Transformational leadership as a moderator. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1709.
Shliakhovchuk, E. (2021). After cultural literacy: New models of intercultural competency for life and work in a VUCA world. Educational Review, 73(2), 229-250.
Somech, A. (2006). The effects of leadership style and team process on performance and innovation in functionally heterogeneous teams. Journal of Management, 32(1), 132- 157.
Tuertscher, P., Garud, R., & Nordberg, M. (2008). The emergence of architecture–the case of ATLAS, CERN. In academy of Management Annual Meeting Anaheim.
Yin, R. K. (2012). Case study methods. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2. Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological (pp. 141– 155).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Mireia Sierra, Matteo Di Stasi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
