Global Decision-Making: The Role of Managerial Curiosity in Assessing Potentially Disruptive Information Technologies

Multinational Business Review, Winter 2008 by Garrison, Gary, Harvey, Michael, Napier, Nancy

Abstract:

This paper examines the role of managerial curiosity as a critical factor in determining the future impact of disruptive information technologies in a global organization. Specifically, this paper presents curiosity as a managerial characteristic that plays an important role in identifying disruptive information technologies and facilitating their early adoption. Further, it uses resource-based theory as a theoretical lens to illustrate how managerial curiosity can be a source of sustained competitive advantage. Finally it examines the individual decision styles that are best suited in assessing disruptive information technologies.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

INTRODUCTION

In today's fast-paced and dynamic global environment, organizations' top management teams (TMTs) face a complex environment marked by turmoil, change, and many times, disruptive market conditions. These conditions are replete in difficult global decision-making relative to the complexities of adopting a sustaining versus a disruptive technology. While most new technologies offer incremental improvements or "sustaining" type improvements over existing technologies, some can have a more profound and radical impact on the competitive landscape. Such "disruptive technologies" (Christensen 1997) require managers to rethink their information technology (IT) adoption strategies to incorporate organizational flexibility, innovativeness, and management creativity for their organization to stay competitive in the global marketplace.

As TMTs encounter greater uncertainty and ambiguity with respect to incorporating and building their global organizational strategies around radically different technologies, they seek to reduce their level of risk. One of the primary ways to address strategic risk is by maintaining existing strategic initiatives as well as investing in sustaining-type technologies rather than in potentially disruptive technologies. Yet, global environmental conditions demand that TMTs accept the heightened risks of unproven disruptive technologies in order to remain competitive against global competitors. Further, TMTs need to broaden their view by recognizing opportunities on a global basis (Chari, Devaraj, and David 2007), which may involve increased costs and risk associated with disruptive technologies.

However, the level of risk or perception of risk may be reduced with the adoption of disruptive technologies through a mechanism of experimentation and /or unstructured decision-making driven by curiosity. The environmental context (e.g., culture, economic, risk taking /aversion of a society) may also influence the curiosity of TMT members; but if one considers the point of view of a western TMT, it makes the discussion of curiosity more focused. This is not to diminish the importance of these macro-environmental impacts but rather to recognize them as confounding issues when examining the concept of managerial curiosity.

Curiosity is broadly defined as a desire for acquiring new knowledge and new sensory experience that motivates exploratory behavior (Berlyne 1960, 1965, 1974, 1978; James 1950; Loewenstein 1994; Spielberger and Starr 1994). This exploratory behavior is considered the first step in the learning process. Curiosity was further refined by Wilson (1998) as an intrinsic behavior that stimulates exploration and learning, yet its intensity differs among individuals. In an organizational context, higher levels of curiosity within senior management may invigorate a healthier corporate vision by promoting a culture that cultivates an increase in technology sensing- and response-capability thereby providing them with an entrepreneurial edge over the competition. Indeed, curiosity may encompass more than a penchant for discovering new technologies just for discovery's sake. Curiosity is about scenario planning which can serve TMTs well when it comes to their industry, their business, or new global markets in terms of planning for ways in which a new G? can help them create a sustainable global competitive advantage.

Consequently, this paper details how managerial curiosity may play an increasingly vital role in identifying and exploiting disruptive technologies long before their value and competitive benefits are widely known. As strategic global decision-making is increasingly tested by IT advancements, little research has examined the role of managerial curiosity in assessing disruptive technologies. Therefore, this paper addresses that gap by examining the role managerial curiosity plays in assessing disruptive technologies and how managerial curiosity can be a source of sustained global competitive advantage.

This paper examines the concept of curiosity from the perspective of a Western TMT and is divided into five parts. First, it examines the characteristics that distinguish sustaining from disruptive technologies. Next, the paper reviews the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm to demonstrate how managerial curiosity can be a source of sustainable competitive advantage when assessing disruptive technologies. The third section integrates literature on the role of curiosity and creativity with the adoption of disruptive technologies. Fourth, individual decision styles and the role of disruptive technology in the innovation decision process are presented. Finally, this paper describes the testable characteristics of innovations and how perceptions of four of the characteristics may be influenced by managerial curiosity. Examples of potentially disruptive technologies will be given at the end of each section of the paper to illustrate the type of IT that could have a significant impact on global organizations.