Abstract

There are considerable inconsistencies on the utility of face-to-face group brainstorming, which was considered a efficient technique for stimulating creative idea generation, between the field experience and the results of laboratory experiments. Contrary to the expectation of the field users of it, empirical evidences showed that the productivity of the brainstorming group is significantly lower than that of nominal group. This lower productivity stems from the various problems inherent in the group brainstorming procedure. Recently, electronic brainstorming(EBS) has been proposed as a superior approach to both nominal brainstorming and traditional face-to-face brainstorming. In this review, first, the problems inherent in the verbal brainstorming procedure were presented with the comparison of idea productivity between verbal brainstorming group and nominal group, and then, electronic brainstorming was introduced as an alternative technique. Second, the results of empirical research on the productivity of electronic brainstorming group were compared with that of nominal group, and the ceiling of its productivity was explained by the lack of cognitive stimulation. Finally, future research directions concerning the effective use of brainstorming technique were presented.