Adaption-Innovation Theory and Cognitive Diversity: The Impact on Knowledge Use within Organizations

The usefulness of data within organizations is proposed to be partially dependent upon the characteristics of those organization members who actually use it. Certain types of data are more likely to be accessed and utilized by organization members when they prefer working with it. The value and usefulness of data is therefore partially determined by the desire of individuals to use it. Because critical data may not be in a preferred format, it can be overlooked or ignored by some organizational members. Moreover, organizational members may also rely too heavily on their favored types of data. Thus, inappropriate access and use of data can occur within organizational decision making. This can result in ineffective decision-making and poor organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to propose relationships between the users of both tacit and explicit knowledge and their preferred cognitive style and to test these proposed relationships using empirical data.