Purpose: This paper is addressing the question what personal characteristics help a leader to build social capital. The purpose is to present the development of a questionnaire to measure leaders' propensity for building social capital, depending on the perceived strength of bonds; it is also aimed at presenting the preliminary results of intercultural studies.Design/methodology/approach: This paper starts with a review of the theory on social capital and Granovetter's concept of the "strength of weak ties." Next the process of the development of the related questionnaire is presented. Findings:The developed questionnaire is a universal and reliable tool that can be used to study various social problems in different populations. The preliminary results of the questionnaire from 10 European countries suggest that the more distant the relationship is perceived the lower is the level of trust and sense of support. Moreover, data suggest that socio-economic organizations as well as those which are longer on the market obtained the highest results on the questionnaire's scales. Social implications:In conclusion possible applications are discussed, including measuring the dynamics of change in individuals' preparedness to build social capital, depending on the social or political context, for example, the presumable "openness" during peaceful social activities or movements.Originality/value: Social capital is commonly seen as a positive value, both in its individual and group dimensions, and several tools exist for measuring both. However, there seems to be a void and a need for a questionnaire measuring individual's propensity to develop social capital.
This article argues that the propensity to perceive impossible challenges as doable is a personality trait, and presents a method for measuring it. The name coined for this concept is “possibilitivity,” a portmanteau of “possible” and “creativity.” Possibilitivity is related to such personality traits as self-efficacy and locus of control. This article shows that this trait is embedded in individual cognitive processes, whilst targeting social issues; in this vein, it may be seen as an important mechanism facilitating change-making and transgressing the seemingly impossible. Methodology for assessing this trait is presented, i.e., the process of constructing and validating a questionnaire, its psychometric properties, and some comparisons within the sample (N = 1117). One of the findings is that women are significantly more prone to perceive difficult challenges as doable than men. Seeing this study as the first step, further research recommendations are presented, e.g., comparing possibilitivity between various segments of society, as well as analyzing potential correlations with other traits, e.g., empathy or ambiguity tolerance.
Purpose: This article presents an overview of the constructive functions of embracing (instead of rejecting) contradictions (otherwise known as a paradox mindset or Janusian thinking). It also demonstrates the positive impact of tension resulting from the cognitive consideration of simultaneous contradictions (as opposed to the traditional conviction that such cognitive dissonance isexperienced as uncomfortable and reduced). Additionally, this article highlights the positive impact of a paradox mindset on augmenting teams’ and institutions’ creativity and performance. It also documents a method of evaluating the propensity for embracing contradictions (i.e., a paradox mindset).Design/methodology/approach: This article documents the construction and validation of an assessment tool, i.e., the Influence of Contradictions Questionnaire (ICQ), for evaluating the level of propensity for a paradox mindset.Findings: In the validation process (n = 120 Anglophonic sample), the ICQ proved to have positive psychometric parameters (discrimination power and reliability).Social implications: The ICQ can be used for scientific purposes, e.g., for comparison between segments of society or for finding possible correlations with other personality traits (e.g., empathy). It could also serve as an evaluation tool for teams’ and individuals’ levels of propensity for conceptual blending—especially when measuring the results of training in this area.Originality/value: This is a novel approach, both in the theoretical review of various manifestations of embracing contradictions, as well as in designing a comprehensive evaluation method.Keywords: contradictions, Janusian thinking, conceptual blending, creativity, embracing contradictions, divergent thinkingPaper type: Research paper
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