Are you wondering whether to invest in the Google Glass or another technology breakthrough? If you鈥檙e in business and want to be perceived as a leader, new research from Vanderbilt University suggests you might as well go for it.
鈥淔amiliarity with and usage of new high-tech products appears to be a common manifestation of innovative behavior,鈥� write of Vanderbilt and of North Carolina State University. 鈥淸rquote]Those who are tech savvy are also perceived as authoritative on other subjects and as leaders.鈥漑/rquote]
Hoeffler is associate professor of marketing at at Vanderbilt University. Wood is Langdon Distinguished Professor of Marketing at at North Carolina State College. Together they authored the paper published by
For one part of the study, interviews were taped using actors who were categorized by their appearance and other factors.
鈥淲e taped them once where they took down a note using an old-fashioned calendar, then did another one where they whipped out an electronic calendar and did it that way,鈥� he said.
Another part of the study used resumes which were all similar except for hobbies, which were varied to signal whether the subjects were high tech or not. Again, the high-tech candidates came out ahead.
In the trials, women who used technological gadgets benefited more than their male counterparts.
鈥淭his finding runs counter to the backlash effect typically found in impression management research in business settings,鈥� Hoeffler and Wood write. 鈥淔emale job evaluations typically suffer after engaging in the same self-promoting impression management strategies that benefit their male counterparts.鈥�
Actually being able to operate the devices really isn鈥檛 all that important, provided you know enough to look reasonably competent, Hoeffler said.
鈥淛ust possession is 90 percent of the game,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd there are maybe 10 percent of situations where you have to display the ability to use it.鈥�