Purpose The purpose of this paper was to determine whether innovativeness is a personal attribute that enhances entrepreneurial success and to obtain external validation for the Valuable Novelty Theory of innovation and the Innovator Mindset (IM) instrument for measuring personal innovativeness....

A general theory of innovation is proposed based on an analysis of the common characteristics and dynamics of two innovation archetypes, natural selection and the scientific method, along with innovation in other contexts such as business and technology. This Valuable Novelty Theory posits a...

This article describes the creation and testing of an Innovator Mindset instrument for assessing personal innovativeness, using an Innovativeness Index . Its design is based on the Valuable Novelty Theory of innovation, and expands on that theory by applying it to human behavior and cognition....