From Creativity to Innovation: The Social Network Drivers of the Four Phases of the Idea Journey

Perry-Smith, J E and Mannucci, P V (2017) From Creativity to Innovation: The Social Network Drivers of the Four Phases of the Idea Journey. Academy of Management Review, 42 (1). pp. 53-79. ISSN 0363-7425

Abstract

In recent years interest has burgeoned in how social networks influence individual creativity and innovation. This increased attention has generated many inconsistencies from both the theoretical and empirical points of view. In this article we propose that a conceptualization of the idea journey encompassing phases that the literature has so far overlooked can help solve existing tensions. We conceptualize four phases of the journey of an idea from conception to completion: idea generation, idea elaboration, idea championing, and idea implementation. We propose that a creator has distinct primary needs in each phase - cognitive flexibility, support, influence, and shared vision, respectively. Individual creators successfully move through a phase when the relational and structural elements of their networks match the distinct needs of the phase. The relational and structural elements that are beneficial for one phase, however, are detrimental for another. We propose that in order to solve this seeming contradiction and the associated paradoxes, individual creators have to change interpretations and frames throughout the different phases. This in turn allows them to activate different network characteristics at the appropriate moment and successfully complete the idea journey from novel concept to a tangible outcome that changes the field.