Understanding the role of value-focused thinking in idea management

Abstract: In a couple of classical studies, Keeney proposed two sets of variables labelled as value‐focused thinking (VFT) and alternative‐focused thinking (AFT). Value‐focused thinking (VFT), he argued, is a creative method that centres on the different decision objectives and how as many alternatives as possible may be generated from them. Alternative‐focused thinking (AFT), on the other hand, is a method in which the decision maker takes notice of all the available alternatives and then makes a choice that seems to fit the problem best. The impact of these two methods on idea generation was measured using a sample of employees. The results revealed that employees in the value‐focused thinking condition (VFT) produced fewer ideas. Thus, value‐focused thinking (VFT) is not only able to facilitate ideation fluency but also to constrain it. Factors such as cognitive effort and motivation may play a part here. However, the quality of the ideas was judged to be higher in terms of creativity and

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Veröffentlichungsversion ; begutachtet (peer reviewed) ; In: Creativity and Innovation Management ; 20 (2011) 3 ; 196-206

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Mannheim
• (when): 2011
• Creator: Selart, Marcus ; Johansen, Svein Tvedt

Further information

• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8691.2011.00602.x
• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-398903
• Rights: Open Access; Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 25.03.2025, 1:48 PM CET