Seeking Serendipity: The Art of Finding the Unsought in Professional Music

Serendipity is a valuable constituent of professional work. In order to ‘control’ the phenomenon it is important to gain insight in its processes and influencing factors. This study examined two cases of serendipitous information behavior in professional improvised music, a domain often associated with unpredictability. The aim of the study was to validate McCay-Peet and Toms’ latest model on work-related serendipitous experiences. The study followed a semi-structured interview procedure that consisted of three one-hour interview sessions to select cases and collect data. Results show that our data fit the model. Process elements like ‘trigger’, ‘connection’, ‘valuable outcome’, ‘unexpected thread’, and ‘perception of serendipity’ were identified, as well as factors such as ‘trigger-rich’, ‘openness’, and ‘prepared mind’. We also identified other factors (i.e., ‘curiosity’, ‘interest’, and ‘initiative’) that might influence serendipitious discovery. Additional (multi) case studies are necessary to generalize findings.