By the Book or Out of the Box? Top Decision Maker Cognitive Style, Gender, and Firm Absorptive Capacity

Despite scholars’ early emphasis on the role people play in fostering firms’ absorptive capacity (AC), research has not deeply explored the individual-level antecedents of this important capability. We draw on adaptive-innovative theory to explain how top decision makers’ cognitive styles can influence the degree to which their firms develop AC. Top decision makers who have high adaptive cognitive style prefer to adhere to existing norms, follow established procedures, and rely on current knowledge, and we argue that these attributes will strengthen those dimensions of AC based on firms’ existing knowledge and knowledge-assimilation abilities. Top decision makers who have high innovative cognitive style are more likely to reframe information, experiment with new problem-solving approaches, and take risks by violating norms, and we argue that these attributes may strengthen those dimensions of AC based on firms’ acquisition of new knowledge and the assimilation of knowledge throughout the firm. We also argue that gender differences may moderate these effects. Empirical results support our hypotheses.

Determinants of Entrepreneurial Intentions in ICT Industry: Gender and country of origin perspective

Although many researchers agree that environmental and personal characteristics are important for becoming an entrepreneur, it is still not clear if their influence is equally significant. Numerous authors have pointed out unresolved matters regarding the relationship among innovativeness, gender, and entrepreneurial intensions. The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of gender and country of origin in relation to entrepreneurial intentions and innovative cognitive style. Research was conducted using a sample of students majoring in information and communication technologies from Croatia and Slovenia. The results revealed the influence of gender, country, attitudes toward entrepreneurship, and innovative cognitive style on entrepreneurial intentions.

Cognitive Style and Plebe Turnover at the U.S. Naval Academy

Students entering ( N = 1,134) the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2000 were administered the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory on the first day of Plebe Summer, a 7-wk. nonacademic training program completed by all entering students in the summer prior to the freshman year. The mean score on Innovation cognitive style for this sample of plebes was approximately a standard deviation lower than those of five other undergraduate student samples from nonmilitary universities. Furthermore, the 98 plebes who voluntarily withdrew before completing the program scored higher on the average on Innovation than those who remained. Findings suggest that, in terms of Person-Organization fit, plebes with a more innovative cognitive style may, perhaps, be less compatible with the regimentation-style climate of the Academy than those with an Adaptive cognitive style. Further research, however, is needed to specify the relationship between Academy students' cognitive style and other important organizational outcomes.