Performance implications of matching adaption and innovation cognitive style with explicit and tacit knowledge resources

Abstract

Some organizations are more effective at using their knowledge resources than are others, and this can lead to performance differences among organizations with equivalent resources. One aspect of organizations that helps to explain differences in effective use of organizational resources is the cognitive styles of organization members. We propose that a better matching of cognitive style and knowledge resources will improve organizational performance through improved knowledge resource utilization. In particular, and based on adaption-innovation theory (Kirton, 1976), we propose that teams of individuals with an adaptor cognitive style will perform better when explicit knowledge is available and teams of individuals with an innovator cognitive style will perform better when tacit knowledge is available. In addition, when there are significant differences in cognitive styles among a team of organizational members we suggest that training can improve the successful use of available organizational knowledge resources.

Keywords:

• cognitive style
• knowledge resources
• organizational performance

Additional information

Notes on contributors

James M Bloodgood

About the authors

James M. Bloodgood is a professor in Management at Kansas State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. His research is currently focused on knowledge management, organizational change, entrepreneurship, business ethics, and institutional theory. He has published in a wide variety of journals including Academy of Management Review, Decision Support Systems, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, and Journal of Marketing.

Michael A. Chilton is an associate professor of Management Information Systems at Kansas State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas. His research interests include knowledge management, IT performance metrics, and IT pedagogy. He has published in a variety of journals including the Journal of Management Information Systems, the Database for Advances in Information Systems and the Journal of Information Systems Education.