Abstract
Background: Serendipitous interactions are unplanned encounters between people that can lead to new ideas and insights. They have been shown to be beneficial for collaboration and innovation in a variety of settings, including workplaces, schools, and communities. On the other hand, innovation has long been recognized as a key driver of progress in various domains, and the role of collaboration in fostering innovation is well-established.
Purpose: While serendipity is often seen as a chance occurrence, this experiment seeks to explore whether it can be intentionally promoted within a controlled environment to enhance collaborative behavior and innovation outcomes. Therefore, the main goal of the study is to measure the potential influence of serendipitous interactions on individuals' willingness to collaborate for innovation.
Methods: A One-Group Pretest-Posttest Quasi-experimental design is applied, where participants are randomly assigned, variables are measure before and after the treatment and no control group is considered. 30 individuals will be randomly recruited from “Tempowerk”, a Hamburg-based technology park, with more than 800 employees working in 100 small and medium-sized companies.
The experimental condition will involve a Launch Roulette dynamic, where participants will be invited to a luncheon and then randomly assigned among tables of four. Participants' willingness to collaborate, social ties and other relevant variables will be measure before and after the dynamic, using a survey.
Results: We hypothesize that after the experimental condition, participants will have more social ties, be more willing to collaborate and be more likely to be innovative than before their participation.
Practical implications: Understanding how serendipity can be harnessed to enhance collaborative behaviors may lead to the development of innovative strategies for team building, knowledge exchange, and problem-solving.
Originality/value: This planned experiment represents a critical step toward elucidating the complex relationship between serendipity, collaboration, and innovation, with the ultimate goal of providing actionable insights for enhancing creative endeavors, specially in the context of collaboration for innovation.