A cross-cultural study of the mediating role of implicit theories of innovativeness in the relationship between values and attitudes towards innovation

This article presents a cross-cultural study on the mediating role of implicit theories of innovativeness in the relationship between basic values and specific attitudes toward innovation. Modernized samples (399 Russians from Moscow and Novokuznetsk) and more traditional samples (194 Chechens and Ingushs from North Caucasus and 200 Tuvins from the Tuva Republic) within the Russian Federation completed the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS), measures of attitudes toward innovation, and an Adjective Check List adapted for measuring implicit theories of innovativeness in the current samples. Main findings include (a) a split in individual and social aspects of implicit theories of innovativeness, (b) different mediation of the effects of Openness to Change and Conservation values, and (c) differences in mediation models between the two samples. Implications of these findings for cross-cultural studies on innovativeness are discussed.