Engineering serendipitous interaction in distributed organizations

Last registered on October 04, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Engineering serendipitous interaction in distributed organizations
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012009
Initial registration date
September 22, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 04, 2023, 1:43 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Germany
Region
Hamburg

Primary Investigator

Name
Tim Schweisfurth
Affiliation
Institute for Organizational Design and Collaboration Engineering, Hamburg University of Technology, Am Schwarzenberg Campus 4 D, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Harini Marudavanan
PI Affiliation
Institute for Organizational Design and Collaboration Engineering, Hamburg University of Technology
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Harold Gamero
PI Affiliation
Institute for Organizational Design and Collaboration Engineering, Hamburg University of Technology
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-09-18
End date
2023-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
serendipitous interactions, serendipitous encounters, collaboration, collaboration willingness, innovation
JEL code(s)
O30 - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights: General / O31 Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives / O32 - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
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.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Gamero, Harold, Harini Marudavanan and Tim Schweisfurth. 2023. "Engineering serendipitous interaction in distributed organizations." AEA RCT Registry. October 04. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12009-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The experimental involvea a Launch Roulette dynamic, where 30 out of 450 participants will be randomly selected and invited to a luncheon. Once on the location, the participants will be randomly assigned among tables of 4. Participants' willingness to collaborate, social ties and other relevant variables will be measure using a survey before and after this dynamic.
The intervention is whether people are collocated at a table or not
Intervention Start Date
2023-10-10
Intervention End Date
2023-10-11

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Social ties, willingness collaborate, further social interaction
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
A Pretest-Posttest Design is applied WITHIN to find out whether being collocated increases social ties.
A group comparison testing the intervention against control is applied to test whether collocation affects the endpoints.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Participant seating will be designed using a simple random sampling technique using excel (=RAND).
Randomization Unit
The seating order will be randomized.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
8 tables
Sample size: planned number of observations
32x32 interactions between employees
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
128 on treatment arm, 896 on control arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
TUHH Dean School of Mgmt
IRB Approval Date
2023-09-26
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials