The Influence of the perception of Fairness on Innovation Idea Value and Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Innovation Idea Networks

This article explores the relationships between innovation idea value, innovators’ perceptions of fairness, and their participation behavior and knowledge sharing behavior in the intrafirm social network. The study uses survey data and a database from a large company that is one of Europe’s top performers in idea management. In addition to the idea database, this study surveys participating employees about their perceptions of fairness and their participation behavior and knowledge sharing behavior. The results show that there is a clear relationship between innovation idea value, employees’ perceptions of fairness, and employees’ participation behavior and knowledge sharing behavior. Furthermore, there is clear evidence that tenure increases the value of innovation ideas. The findings suggest a number of implications for ideation management and for the design of social networks for innovation ideas. To increase the value of innovation ideas, social networks for innovation ideas can be used if the allocation of rewards for idea providers is positively associated with the fairness perceptions of network members.