How a Strong Present Focus Fosters Radical Idea Recognition
The Generation, Recognition and Legitimation of Novelty
ISBN: 978-1-80117-998-0, eISBN: 978-1-80117-997-3
Publication date: 20 January 2022
Abstract
Building on research showing the influence of temporal focus on decision-making, I argue that the propensity to invest in and support radically novel ideas depends on the degree to which the members of the evaluating audience focus on the present time. I conducted a series of experiments to study how a disposition to think more about the present shifts audience members’ evaluative responses to novelty. My findings show that audience members with a strong focus on the present are more willing to support radical than incremental ideas. I further probe the underlying cognitive process by unveiling the mediating role of idea uncertainty. Focusing on audience members’ subjective experience of time and integrating it with novelty recognition offers valuable insight into research on creativity, innovation, and, more generally, social evaluation.
Keywords
Citation
Falchetti, D. (2022), "How a Strong Present Focus Fosters Radical Idea Recognition", Cattani, G., Deichmann, D. and Ferriani, S. (Ed.) The Generation, Recognition and Legitimation of Novelty (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 77), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 187-204. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20220000077015
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022 Denise Falchetti