The Ikea Effect: Accepting Change by Creating it


In our drive for efficiency and effectiveness in life, business, or work place, we tend to present finished solutions and ready-made decisions to others. However well-intentioned, this can have a negative impact on the value people place on change. On the other hand, if you involve people in shaping the future, rather than imposing changes or “selling” it to them, they will value the changes more and take more ownership.

As a result, they will participate in the change more willingly than reluctantly. That’s the Ikea effect in action. You can use this to your advantage when initiating change.

What you made yourself or put effort into, you appreciate more than what was created by someone else. That’s the Ikea effect, named after the Swedish furniture chain. Many people think Ikea is successful because they are cheaper, but that is only one part of their value proposition. 


The second important part is being able to assemble your furniture yourself using a short manual. That increases the value perception.

In 2011, this effect was proven in a study by Harvard, Yale and Duke, which included renowned professor and author Dan Ariely. We have a psychological need to feel competent. 

If the Ikea effect means that we overvalue our creations, it also means that we are proud of what we produce.


More value is placed on the solution that someone has worked on in retrospect rather than beforehand. In other words, when someone does not know beforehand that a co-creation project can bring him or her much value (unless he or she has already experienced some).

People will first have to be motivated to participate. By working with small, manageable contributions you can also cope with this. It doesn’t always have to be a big deal. Asking for short feedback on ideas can already increase involvement.

The Ikea effect is a very powerful cognitive bias (prejudice). Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from the norm or rationality in judgment. You can use these to your advantage when initiating change, by providing people with a framework, purpose and instructions and allowing them to make small or large, manageable contributions, so that they are more appreciative of the change and motivated to continue working on it. On the other hand, you have to be aware of the side effects that can occur. So the Ikea effect can give you problems, but if you know how to use it, it can serve you perfectly.


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