University of Twente Student Theses
The effect of varying degrees of anonymity on brainstorming
Hellweg, Stefan (2022) The effect of varying degrees of anonymity on brainstorming.
|
PDF
572kB |
| Abstract: | Brainstorming is a much-utilized tool to generate ideas, but the ideal way of organizing a brainstorming session has not been identified yet. Previous research on the effect of anonymity on brainstorming has been inconclusive. This study aims to investigate the relationship between varying degrees of anonymity and the effectiveness of a brainstorming session. Varying degrees of anonymity in this context refers to which ideas could be directly linked to the identity of the person that generated them. It was theorized that selective anonymity (a form of anonymity where only the top 10% of ideas could be linked to the creator) would prove to be the best way of conducting a brainstorming session and that the variables evaluation apprehension and free-riding would act as mediator variables. This was tested by creating an electronic nominal brainstorming session and randomly assigning participants into one of three groups (full anonymity, no anonymity, selective anonymity). The number of high-quality ideas generated per person was compared between the groups with a Kruskal-Wallis H test which showed no significant differences between the groups. An ANOVA test showed no significant effect from the degree of anonymity on evaluation apprehension or free-riding. The ordinal regression analysis showed that evaluation apprehension and free-riding were mostly insignificant predictors for the number of high-quality ideas generated. These results suggest that the degree of anonymity does not affect the effectiveness of an electronic nominal brainstorming session and that the variables evaluation apprehension and free-riding do not act as mediators in this context. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Programme: | International Business Administration BSc (50952) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/91333 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page