Differences between the scores of male and female respondents, 115 British, 123 Australian, and 131 American midcareer MBA students, confirm propositions derived from Kirton's adaption-innovation theory to the effect that individuals who diverge most from social norms will be among the most innovative members of their group.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
FoxallG. R. (1990) An empirical analysis of mid-career managers' adaptive-innovative cognitive styles and task orientations in three countries. Psychological Reports, 66, 1115–1124.
2.
FoxallG. R.PayneA. F. (1989) Adaptors and innovators in organizations: A cross-cultural study of the cognitive styles of managerial functions and subfunctions. Human Relations, 42, 639–649.
3.
GoldsmithR. E. (1985) A factorial composition of the KAI inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 45, 245–250.
4.
KirtonM. J. (1976) Adaptors and innovators: A description and measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 61, 622–629.
5.
KirtonM. J. (Ed.) (1989) Adaptors and innovators: Styles of creativity and problem-solving. London: Routledge.
