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Thinking and feeling about novelty: How cognition and emotion shape investment in novel ideas

Matthew Mount¹; Henry Tue Le²; Gary Bowman²; Christopher Golding³

¹ Deakin Business School Deakin University Melbourne Victoria Australia · ² College of Business and Law Adelaide University Adelaide South Australia Australia · ³ Henley Business School–University of Reading Reading UK

Abstract While prior research on the strategic framing of innovation highlights the cognitive mechanisms underlying novelty evaluation, we know little about the corresponding emotional mechanisms. Drawing on appraisal theory, construal level theory, and the literature on emotions, we theorize two distinct appraisal‐emotion pathways through which the framing of novel ideas evokes hope and awe among investors with different motives. We argue that high‐construal framing supplements economically motivated investors' low‐level feasibility orientation, which evokes hope and increases their willingness to invest. By contrast, low‐construal framing supplements non‐economically motivated investors' high‐level desirability orientation, which evokes awe and increases their willingness to invest. We test and find some support for these within‐motive pathways across three studies. Our study offers new theoretical and practical insights on the strategic framing of novel ideas.

DOI

10.1002/smj.70085

Volume

47 (8)

Pages

2208-2234

Language

en

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BibTeX

Sources

crossref openalex