How Do Thinking Style and Motivation Influence Household Sector Innovation? Evidence from a Cross-Country Survey

Abstract

Household sector innovations, as a subset of user innovations, are not only an essential driver of economic development and social welfare, but also a good proxy for the ability of people to innovate. Previous research on the individual-level determinants of household sector innovation is limited. Our study contributes to fill this gap and investigates the role of thinking style as well as learning and career motivation as determinants of household sector innovation. Based on a sample of 451 individuals from Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Germany and Japan, we find that people with a better ability in critical thinking and a more intrinsic learning motivation are more likely to be household sector innovators. These persons also put more emphasis on innovation as a career choice motive. Another important finding of our study is that gender differences seem to be smaller for household sector innovation, compared to more traditional forms of innovation. This suggests that this type of innovation provides opportunities for women to play a more prominent role in the economic process, particularly in developing countries.