Abstract

Appreciative Inquiry is generative as it develops a potential among organizational members to view their organization with a new lens which creates hope for the future and a confidence to build the future collectively. The purpose of the study is to validate the effectiveness of a Generative Appreciative Inquiry vs. Traditional Appreciative Inquiry and a Problem Solving approach in fostering generativity among organizational members. Seventy six organizational members of a large Midwest public transit organization participated in the study. The groups were divided among three interventions (Generative Appreciative Inquiry or the Synergenesis approach, Traditional Appreciative Inquiry and Problem Solving) and measured by constructs of Generativity developed from a multi-theoretical perspective. The study used both quantitative surveys measures and qualitative measures. The results empirically supports that Synergenesis is the most generative of all the approaches. Specifically, from the surveys it was found that Synergenesis created more hope, self-efficacy, group potency and positive affect than the other two approaches. Moreover, it generated the most compelling and practical ideas. Finally, the qualitative measure corroborated the finding by showing that participants from Synergenesis produced the most action steps than the other two groups. From a quantitative perspective, this study proves the power of an Appreciative Inquiry intervention to cultivate generativity among individuals. The study has theoretical implications as it attempts to conceptualize and measure Generativity within Appreciative Inquiry.