Innovation Experiments: Researching Technical Advance, Knowledge Production and the Design of Supporting Institutions
Forthcoming in Innovation Policy and the Economy, volume 16, edited by Josh Lerner and Scott Stern. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Harvard Business School Strategy Unit Working Paper No. 16-001
Harvard Business School Technology & Operations Mgt. Unit Working Paper No. 16-001
39 Pages Posted: 3 Jul 2015 Last revised: 4 Jul 2015
Date Written: July 1, 2015
Abstract
This paper discusses several challenges in designing field experiments to better understand how organizational and institutional design shapes innovation outcomes and the production of knowledge. We proceed to describe the field experimental research program carried out by our Crowd Innovation Laboratory at Harvard University to clarify how we have attempted to address these research design challenges. This program has simultaneously solved important practical innovation problems for partner organizations, like NASA and Harvard Medical School, while contributing research advances, particularly in relation to innovation contests and tournaments.
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