Tolerance of ambiguity and emotional attitudes in a changing business environment

Abstract

Purpose -The aim of the research is to investigate the influence of emotional attitudes towards change on managers' tolerance of ambiguity. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 70 CEOs of Greek IT firms completed questionnaires examining tolerance of ambiguity, emotional attitudes towards change ambiguity and job satisfaction. Principal components analysis and ordinary regression analyses were used to explore the hypotheses. Findings -The paper finds that three factors characterize managers' emotional attitudes towards change, namely dominance, arousal, and pleasure. Furthermore, it indicates that job satisfaction can be taken as a critical intervention variable that "energizes" managers' arousal (i.e. stimulation, excitement and frenzy) which, in turn, influences their tolerance of ambiguity. Research limitations/implications -Deeper and broader level of research is necessary in Greek IT industry regarding the influence of emotional attitudes on tolerance of ambiguity. Likewise, this research should be expanded to other industries. Practical implications -The findings provide further support on the significance of emotional attitudes during change and the paper suggests policies to enhance managers' tolerance of ambiguity. Originality/value -The originality of this study lies in the finding that job satisfaction energizes the arousal factor, which, in turn, influences significantly managers' tolerance of ambiguity. Another important contributing factor is that the study is carried out in Greece, where few studies have been conducted in this area.

Towards a Tolerance of Ambiguity Model in Greek Tourism Industry

“…Hofstede's (2001) research findings suggest that within a sample of 56 nations, Greece has the highest uncertainty avoidance value (Greece: 112; nations' mean average: 66.4). Further, other researches also suggest that low ambiguity tolerance (Nicolaidis & Katsaros, 2011) and high uncertainty intolerance (Nicolaidis, 1992) characterize the culture of Greek firms in terms of risk evasion and change avoidance.…”

“…For instance, Schweiger and DeNisi (1991) found that employees involved in a merger exhibited decreased levels of job satisfaction, while Wanberg and Banas (2000) found that low levels of change acceptance were associated with decreased job satisfaction. More to the point, research has identified a positive relationship between job satisfaction and ambiguity tolerance and it suggests that job satisfaction plays a critical role in employees' acceptance of change (Judge, Thoreson, Pucik, & Welbourne, 1999;Nicolaidis & Katsaros, 2011).…”

“…Thus, nowadays, organizational members' success highly depends on the extent to which they are able to cope with change ambiguity/uncertainty in their business environment (Nicolaidis & Katsaros, 2011). In this respect, the main aim of this paper is to examine the influence of certain significant perceptual and attitudinal factors on chief executive officers' (CEOs) tolerance of ambiguity.…”

Managers' workplace attitudes, tolerance of ambiguity and firm performance

“…In psychology and in management, levels of TOA are positively related to numerous personal, emotional, behavioral and working attitudes that may influence individual performance such as job satisfaction (Nicolaidis and Katsaros, 2011), organizational commitment (Judge et al, 1999), creativity (Tegano, 1990), decision making (Wilkinson, 2006), critical thinking (Facione et al, 1994), risk acceptance (Lauriola and Levin, 2001), emotional competences (George and Jones, 2001), entrepreneurship (Teoh and Foo, 1997) and effective leadership (Lane and Klenke, 2004). In this respect, individuals with TOA consider several perspectives and opinions when looking at a problem and thus, they are able to find solutions that satisfy all the stakeholders.…”

“…Given such changing environmental conditions, managers' emotional and cognitive behaviour during complex and uncertain situations is a significant determinant of the overall success of an organization (Armenakis and Bedeian, 1999;Fiedler, 1996). In more detail, managers' tolerance of change uncertainty and ambiguity rises as a critical skill that may enhance organizations' quick responding and successful change (Nicolaidis and Katsaros, 2011;Sawyer, 1990). Nevertheless, several gaps remain in scholars' understanding regarding which workplace factors and attitudes actually affect managers' ambiguity tolerance and how firms may ultimately foster it.…”