Personal Innovativeness and Employability: How Personal Traits Affect Employer Attractiveness

Personal innovativeness has been conceptualized as a personality trait associated with an individual’s openness to take chances. Relevant literature describes this concept as a key determinant in the innovation and technology adoption process. Hence, innovative individuals are early adopters of innovation who are willing to take risks but who also demonstrate a higher level of self-efficacy and self-confidence in performing new tasks. The main aim of this study is to examine the relationship between personal innovativeness and employability of university graduates in three countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia. A survey was conducted based on the methodology that uses domain-specific conceptualization of personal innovativeness in information technology (PIIT). The results of the study suggest that innovative graduates are employed faster than their university peers. Evidence drawn from the survey of university graduates also indicate challenges that education systems in all three countries face including a lack of skills-based education and its effects on students’ critical thinking, personal innovativeness, and employability skills. These findings raise very important questions about embedding employability into the higher education curriculum. Practical and theoretical implications of the study are presented and discussed.