Social Innovation Model (1.0.0)

This research aims to uncover the micro-mechanisms that drive the macro-level relationship between cultural tolerance and innovation. We focus on the indirect influence of minorities—specifically, workers with diverse domain expertise—within collaboration networks. We propose that minority influence from individuals with different expertise can serve as a key driver of organizational innovation, particularly in dynamic market environments, and that cultural tolerance is critical for enabling such minority-induced innovation. Our model demonstrates that seemingly conflicting empirical patterns between cultural tightness/looseness and innovation can emerge from the same underlying micro-mechanisms, depending on parameter values. A systematic simulation experiment revealed an optimal cultural configuration: a medium level of tolerance (t = 0.6) combined with low consistency (κ = 0.05) produced the fastest adaptation to abrupt market changes. These findings provide evidence that indirect minority influence is a core micro-mechanism linking cultural tolerance to innovation.

Release Notes

Model for: Jung, J., & Gulden, T. R. (2025). From inclusion to innovation: using an agent-based simulation to unravel the micro-mechanisms of the macro-level tolerance-innovation link. International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior. doi:10.1108/ijotb-09-2023-0189

Associated Publications

Jung, J., & Gulden, T. R. (2025). From Inclusion to Innovation: Using an agent-based simulation to unravel the micro-mechanisms of the macro-level tolerance-innovation link. International journal of organization theory and behavior. doi:10.1108/ijotb-09-2023-0189