A Challenge-Based Experiment Aiming to Develop Strategic Thinking an Inquiry into the Role of Stimulating Creativity for out-of-the-Box Thinking

EasyChair Preprint no. 9745, version 1

Abstract

In the era of machine-to-machine communication, the future purchasing and supply management workforce increasingly requires human features that computers need to think more out-of-the-box or strategically. Therefore, institutions for higher education need to introduce learning objectives for these higher-order thinking skills. The question is how to teach and assess thinking skills since these deviate from the common cognitive objectives such as learning knowledge or professional skills. This research differentiates between necessary and sufficient conditions. Evidence shows that students, to develop strategic thinking, need to be result-driven, open to new experiences and curious before the course starts. The course must develop the intrapersonal traits of “creativity”, “curiosity”, “intuition”, “playfulness”, “fantasy thinking”, “proactivity”, “flexibility”, “agility”, “persistence”, “risk-taking”, “analytical thinking”, “consultancy skills”, and “task management”. Moreover, the course must be attractive to stimulate the “willingness to learn”. Moreover, “analytical and holistic thinking” must be developed. These are necessary conditions, meaning that their absence leads to ineffectiveness. With regression techniques, evidence is shown that “creativity” is also sufficient for developing strategic thinking. Higher “anxiety” levels prevent the student from thinking strategically out of the box. The findings align with the literature that strategic thinking involves analytical thinking, intuition and creativity and adds the necessary and sufficient competences and barriers.

Keyphrases: creativity, Future PSM challenges, Strategic Thinking

@Booklet{EasyChair:9745,
  author = {Klaas Stek},
  title = {A Challenge-Based Experiment Aiming to Develop Strategic Thinking an Inquiry into the Role of Stimulating Creativity for out-of-the-Box Thinking},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint no. 9745},

  year = {EasyChair, 2023}}