Protocols for Teaching Students How to Search for,Discover,and Evaluate Innovations

Abstract

The authors introduce and develop protocols to guide aspiring entrepreneurs’ behaviors in searching for and discovering innovative ideas that may have commercial potential. Systematic search has emerged as a theory-based, prescriptive framework to guide innovative behavior. Grounded in Fiet’s theory of search and discovery, this article provides teaching protocols that provide proven methods for guiding individuals to effectively search for and discover product and process innovations. In a series of six, structured, modular sessions, individuals are taught to search for and discover ideas with the potential to generate wealth in domains where they possess prior, domain-specific knowledge. Moreover, a framework is introduced that permits a viability assessment of all discoveries.

Keywords

systematic search alertness search protocols valuation assessment innovation

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