A natural science approach to investigate cross-cultural managerial creativity

As the relative effectiveness of physical resources decreases toward parity with rivals due to their fungibility, the firm's marketplace position, established by managers with a particular set of inter-culturally attuned set of personal values, may be the key antecedent in creating competitive strength in the firm. The research question addressed is how creative are culturally diverse managers; are managers from certain countries more creative than adaptive?We tested hypotheses in a cross-cultural setting based on the survey responses of 1365 managers operating in eight countries located in four culturally diverse regions of the world.Our study shows that managers are both creative and adaptive but the mixture of creative and adaptive behaviour varies depending on region and country and even within countries. Furthermore, the results confirm that creativity among managers in some countries is similar but large differences also exist between countries.

► We examine if managers with a particular set of personal values, may be the key contributor in building competitive strength.
► The paper draws on the natural science approach of anthropology to observe how values promote creative or adaptive decision making.
► We tested hypotheses in a cross-cultural setting based on the survey responses of 1365 managers operating in eight countries.
► Managers are both creative and adaptive but the mixture of creative and adaptive behaviour varies depending country and even within countries.