Measuring adaptive expertise: development and validation of an instrument

K. Bohle Carbonell*, K.D. Könings, M.S.R. Segers, J.J.G. van Merriënboer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Individuals with adaptive expertise possess the skills to deal with novel problems. Whereas this concept has been around since the mid-1980s, no instrument exists that provides a good operationalization of the theoretical construct. This inhibits the further development of research on adaptive expertise and the evaluation of employees' adaptive expertise levels. Adaptive expertise has been unanimously described as a composition of domain-specific and innovative skills. Some researchers argue that metacognitive skills are also crucial. This study aimed to establish whether an instrument measuring adaptive expertise is composed of these three dimensions. In addition, it was tested whether such an instrument is influenced by task variety and work experience, as previously reported in literature. A sample of 383 professionals and graduates were used to test the Adaptive Expertise Inventory. Through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), (E/CFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the quality of the instrument was evaluated. Good model fit was achieved. The final instrument consisted of two dimensionsi.e., domain-specific and innovative skillswith five items each. Regression analysis showed that not work experience, but task variety is related to level of adaptive expertise. The Adaptive Expertise Inventory proved to be a valid instrument for measuring adaptive expertise.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)167-180
Number of pages14
JournalEuropean Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology
Volume25
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Mar 2016

Keywords

  • adaptive expertise
  • innovative skills
  • task variety
  • validation
  • CFA
  • CONFIRMATORY FACTOR-ANALYSIS
  • EXPLORATORY FACTOR-ANALYSIS
  • PARALLEL ANALYSIS
  • PERFORMANCE
  • TASK
  • ADAPTABILITY
  • INVARIANCE
  • KNOWLEDGE
  • DESIGN
  • WORLDS

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