Journal Article
How does the mode of search—independently or jointly—affect collective search, a central component of organizational adaptation and innovation? Using naturally occurring data from a strongly incentivized online competition platform, the authors find that compared to their counterfactuals that search apart, groups searching together exhibit less exploration in their search outcomes as noted in prior experimental and computational modeling studies. However, groups searching together stimulate a greater number of search attempts from their members than groups searching apart, an effect that has so far remained unnoticed. Further, both search attempts and exploration contribute positively to search performance. This suggests that the choice of search mode should depend on the demands of strategic contexts that make either the variety or volume of solutions relatively more important for collective search.
Faculty
Professor of Strategy
