Organizational scholars have long recognized the challenges that interdependencies pose for product development. This paper examines the role that digital experimentation (i.e., A/B tests) plays in facilitating learning about interdependencies in organizations and, consequently, in enhancing product innovation search. We argue that performance feedback from A/B tests exposes decision-makers to how product changes in other units influence their focal-unit performance outcomes. Such exposure guides decision-makers to identify high-potential ideas for new product configurations, thereby enhancing unit-level product experimentation. We found support for our arguments using proprietary data on product development projects from a large social media firm as well as a lab experiment and an online experiment. This paper contributes to the literature on behavioral strategy and digital experimentation.
