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Now That's Promising: A Social Influence Model Of Innovation Evaluation, Peter Boumgarden

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Identifying and investing in innovative initiatives is a fundamental challenge for individuals in the contemporary organization. And yet, while we know a good deal about the psychology of innovation evaluation, we know decidedly less about how such processes are influenced by the formal and informal structures within which individuals in this setting operate. To address these limitations, I first draw from work on the psychology of idea evaluation to identify and develop a heuristic of evaluation relevant to the evaluation of innovation--that of an initiative's promise. I then suggest that such promise evaluations will be simultaneously influenced by the formal …