Adaptors and Innovators in Organizations

Abstract

It is theoretically safe to expect that collective decision-making at the managerial level, in most organizations, will be adaptor-dominated to ensure, e.g., stability and continuity; however, the organizations themselves need not necessarily be adaptor-weighted, i.e., contain more adaptors than innovators. Specific hypotheses about particular subgroups within organizations are advanced, which predict variations in the proportions of adaptors and innovators within given organizational structures. Studies are presented supporting these hypotheses. The variations examined are derived from the adaptor/innovator means of managers in: (a) different departments of a company; (b) different companies; and (c) different management courses. These variations suggest that there may even be differences between the means of practitioners of particular occupations.