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The IKEA effect is a cognitive bias in which people value things more highly if they put effort into creating or assembling them. Named after the furniture retailer IKEA, known for selling products requiring customer assembly, this phenomenon demonstrates that personal labor leads to a greater attachment to the finished item.
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The IKEA effect influences behaviour significantly. Co-creating with team members is a powerful way to get buy-in and build commitment to change. It’s also likely you will get more robust ideas due to diversity of idea generation.
Ensure people can participate in the creation and development of an idea or program. Simply pretending that they have input is a quick way to erode trust and cause disengagement.
In a project or work assignment look for how you can communicate in ways that will encourage your team to build the solution themselves. Don’t spoon-feed or micro manage. Rather set the outcome for the work and let them run with it.
Norton, M. I., Mochon, D., & Ariely, D. (2012). The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(3), 453–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2011.08.002