Personality and Strategy: Cognitive Styles and Strategic Decisions of Managers and Top Management Teams

The perspectives of the relationship between personality and strategy are presented with four articles. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is used to classify managers? behavior and particularly cognitive style. Strategy is analyzed using Miles and Snow?s organizational typology. The central question is: does the cognitive style influence the strategy type managers and top management teams prefer? Proposed model of the relationship between the cognitive style and the strategy type is presented and evaluated using empirical data which was collected from managers in thirteen different spas. In addition, top management teams and their views of the viable strategies are analyzed. On the whole, the results support the importance of the self-understanding of the managers and top management teams. This should be taken into consideration in leadership and strategy trainings as well as in actual strategic decision-making situations. This book is especially suitable for leaders, consultants and business students.