Exploring the dynamic interactions and cognitive characteristics of NSF innovation corps (I-Corps) teams

In this pilot study, we used the Interaction Dynamics Notation (IDN), originally designed for use with engineering design teams, to explore the dynamic interactions of five NSF I-CorpsTM teams engaged in a simple design activity. Our aim was to relate these interaction data to selected cognitive characteristics of the team members, as well as team design outcomes and individual perceptions related to the experience. The individual cognitive characteristics we assessed focused on cognitive style, as measured by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation inventory (KAI), while team outcomes included the novelty, usefulness, and feasibility of each team’s design solutions, as well as their success within and beyond the NSF I-CorpsTM program. Our findings show that the Interaction Dynamics Notation (IDN) can be readily extended to the study of entrepreneurial teams, with important insights gained from the combined study of interaction dynamics, individual cognitive characteristics as measured by KAI, and team outcomes. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility and value of this approach for investigating the dynamic interactions of NSF I-CorpsTM teams, as well as product-focused design teams in general.

[1]  A. Huang-Saad,et al.  Closing the divide: accelerating technology commercialization by catalyzing the university entrepreneurial ecosystem with I-Corps™ , 2016, The Journal of Technology Transfer.

[2]  J. Youtie,et al.  Exploring public values implications of the I-Corps program , 2017 .

[3]  Larry Leifer,et al.  Design Whodunit: The Relationship Between Individual Characteristics and Interaction Behaviors in Design Concept Generation , 2017 .

[4]  Ming-Huei Chen,et al.  The trinity of entrepreneurial team dynamics: cognition, conflicts and cohesion , 2017 .

[5]  Rodney Boehm,et al.  Successful Teaming Characteristics Revealed in an Intensive Design Experience , 2017 .

[6]  Matthew W. Ohland,et al.  Identifying the Characteristics of Engineering Innovativeness , 2017 .

[7]  Matthew W. Ohland,et al.  The diverse personas of engineering innovators , 2017 .

[8]  Rachel R. Doern,et al.  The Role of Friendship in the Formation and Development of Entrepreneurial Teams and Ventures , 2016 .

[9]  Wencang Zhou,et al.  When does shared leadership matter in entrepreneurial teams: the role of personality composition , 2016 .

[10]  Ade Mabogunje,et al.  Diagnostics for Design Thinking Teams , 2016 .

[11]  Seda Yilmaz,et al.  Ideation Variety in Mechanical Design: Examining the Effects of Cognitive Style and Design Heuristics , 2015 .

[12]  Shanna R. Daly,et al.  Impact of Problem Contexts on the Diversity of Design Solutions: An Exploratory Case Study , 2015 .

[13]  Arndt Werner,et al.  Effort provision in entrepreneurial teams: effects of team size, free-riding and peer pressure , 2015 .

[14]  Seda Yilmaz,et al.  The Impact of Teaming and Cognitive Style on Student Perceptions of Design Ideation Outcomes , 2015 .

[15]  Seda Yilmaz,et al.  Exploring the Effects of Problem Framing on Solution Shifts: A Case Study , 2015 .

[16]  Shanna R. Daly,et al.  The Design Problem Framework: Using Adaption-Innovation Theory to Construct Design Problem Statements , 2014 .

[17]  Elena L. Grigorenko,et al.  A Capsule History of Theory and Research on Styles , 2014 .

[18]  Seda Yilmaz,et al.  Investigating Impacts on the Ideation Flexibility of Engineers , 2014 .

[19]  Paul M. Swamidass,et al.  University startups as a commercialization alternative: lessons from three contrasting case studies , 2013 .

[20]  Maria Kakarika.  Staffing an entrepreneurial team: diversity breeds success , 2013 .

[21]  Steve Blank.  Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything , 2013 .

[22]  Ade Mabogunje,et al.  Developing a visual representation to characterize moment-to-moment concept generation in design teams , 2013 .

[23]  Pamela Vercellone-Smith,et al.  Characterizing communication networks in a web-based classroom: Cognitive styles and linguistic behavior of self-organizing groups in online discussions , 2012, Comput. Educ..

[24]  Philip Samuel,et al.  TOWARD AN ADAPTION-INNOVATION STRATEGY FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN , 2011 .

[25]  Sascha Kraus,et al.  Entrepreneurial teams: definition and performance factors , 2009 .

[26]  Michael L. DeVaughn,et al.  Entrepreneurial team characteristics that influence the successful launch of a new venture , 2009 .

[27]  K. Jablokow.  Developing problem solving leadership: a cognitive approach , 2008 .

[28]  A. Agogino,et al.  Enabling And Characterizing Entrepreneurial Successes In New Product Development Teams , 2007 .

[29]  Elizabeth Gerber,et al.  Improvisation principles and techniques for design , 2007, CHI.

[30]  Bi Liu,et al.  A Normalized Levenshtein Distance Metric , 2007, IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell..

[31]  David E. Booth,et al.  The impact and management of cognitive gap in high performance product development organizations , 2006 .

[32]  Thomas Lee Rodgers,et al.  Identifying Quality, Novel, and Creative Ideas: Constructs and Scales for Idea Evaluation , 2006, J. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[33]  Dustin K. Jundt,et al.  Teams in organizations: from input-process-output models to IMOI models. , 2005, Annual review of psychology.

[34]  F.T. Anbari,et al.  Earned Value Project Management Method and Extensions , 2003, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[35]  Steven M. Smith,et al.  Metrics for measuring ideation effectiveness , 2003 .

[36]  Kathryn Weed Jablokow,et al.  Project Team Dynamics and Cognitive Style , 2002 .

[37]  Emden R. Gansner,et al.  Graphviz - Open Source Graph Drawing Tools , 2001, GD.

[38]  R. Sternberg,et al.  Are Cognitive Styles Still in Style , 1997 .

[39]  Christopher W. Allinson,et al.  The Cognitive Style Index: A Measure of Intuition‐Analysis For Organizational Research , 1996 .

[40]  E. Holly Buttner,et al.  Entrepreneurs' Problem-Solving Styles: An Empirical Study Using the Kirton Adaption/innovation Theory , 1993 .

[41]  Leonard Talmy,et al.  Force Dynamics in Language and Cognition , 1987, Cogn. Sci..

[42]  L. Rabiner,et al.  An introduction to hidden Markov models , 1986, IEEE ASSP Magazine.

[43]  M. Kirton.  Adaptors and Innovators: A Description and Measure. , 1976 .

[44]  J. McGrath.  Social Psychology: A Brief Introduction , 1964 .