Transforming Managerial Logic through Building Cognitive Autonomy in Innovation Management

Abstract

Contemporary discourse on innovation management is characterized by a fundamental contradiction: organizations declare flexibility and creative autonomy as strategic priorities while preserving centralized, processdriven decision-making structures that systematically suppress independent thinking. This tension points to a deeper architectural problem in managerial logic itself. This paper argues that sustainable innovation cannot emerge from systems built on cognitive dependence, where meaning-making and judgment remain concentrated at a single hierarchical point. The concept of cognitive autonomy – defined as the distributed capacity of organizational actors to interpret situations, construct meaning, and make decisions within shared value frameworks – is proposed as a foundational principle for transforming managerial logic. Using conceptual analysis and a systems thinking approach, three enabling conditions are identified: redistribution of interpretive authority, replacement of procedural regulation with shared meaning frameworks, and psychological safety as cognitive infrastructure. The findings suggest that as artificial intelligence displaces routine cognitive tasks, the cultivation of cognitive autonomy becomes not merely a managerial choice but an existential organizational imperative. CZU: 005.591.6:005.53; JEL: O31, M10, D83