Six transportation firms (one in each mode) participated in an exploratory study to investigate factors that influence the time lag in decision making over the adoption and implementation stages for innovation. For a sample of 32 innovations, the single best predictor of the amount of time required to progress from one stage of the decision-making process to the next was the cost of the innovation (R**2 equals 0. 23, p less than 0. 01), and a total of four valid predictors (cost, complexity, of the innovation, organizational risk-taking climate, and union reaction) account for about 42% of the variance (R**2) in the innovation and adoption time period. The results of the study suggest that the key leverage point at the firm level for influencing the adoption time period is the risk-taking climate of an organization. The results of the study also suggest that individuals with high risk-taking propensity will not be a sufficient single condition to change or alter the risk-taking climate of an organization.
