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Both uncertainty reduction theory and uncertainty management theory suggest that uncertainty reduction during organizational change is imperative as it may influence positively employees’ attitudes and behaviors. By drawing on the theory of planned behavior that links individual’s beliefs and behavior, the study seeks to examine how employees’ self- and other-interest in change may reduce perceptions of change uncertainty and consequently, foster their behavioral change support (i.e. compliance, cooperation and championing).

The study hypothesizes that employees’ self- and other-interest in change mediate the relationship between perceptions of change uncertainty and behavioral change support. The research was conducted in two large IT companies co-located in a big science park in an EU country in South-eastern Europe. Data were collected from 105 employees and their supervisors in three sequential phases.

The research findings suggest that both self- and other-interest in change partially mediate the negative relationship between perceptions of change uncertainty and behavioral change support.

The findings indicate that change management practitioners will benefit considerably if they try to decrease employees’ perceived change uncertainty by increasing their self- and other-interest in change to provoke supportive behaviors. Relevant suggestions are made.

The findings provide new insights into how perceptions of change uncertainty and self- and other-interest in change can affect employees’ change participation. Further, the research findings add to the uncertainty reduction theory and uncertainty management theory as well as, other related notions.

This study aims to explore how entrepreneurial firms' networking logics may change under different types of perceived uncertainty. The arrival of new knowledge from the entrepreneurial firm's network may alter the perceived technology and market uncertainty that in turn determines how the firm adopts or combines the two opposing logics of causation and effectuation. Focusing on the roles of external advisors recruited by the firms, the study probes the details of the cyclical process and the mechanism through which networking logics are altered.

In this study the authors conducted a 3-year longitudinal multiple case study of 12 United Kingdom (UK) high-tech start-ups from prefounding to A-round funding with 54 semistructured interviews and meeting observations.

The knowledge of external advisors with distinct experience often reshapes the entrepreneurial firm's perceptions of uncertainty, leading to logics change in network development. The authors identify two types of knowledge brought by external advisors and discover how these can influence three networking logic pathways under different levels of technology and market uncertainty.

The study is one of the first to map the paths of changing logics along with different types of uncertainty in the context of entrepreneurial network development. The study unpacks one of the key mechanisms of networking logic changes: the knowledge and expertise of those advisors recruited by the entrepreneurial firms. The process model of changing logics contributes to the effectuation literature and entrepreneurial network research.

The purpose of this study is to analyse, from the perspective of agency theory, differences between client and contractor in their perceptions of changes in uncertainty and in inclination to opportunistic behaviour while using a performance-based procurement procedure. In agency theory, dealing appropriately with the uncertainty and opportunism that results from information asymmetry is an essential precondition for successful procurement.

The procurement procedure analysed is the Performance Information Procurement System (PiPS). PiPS is a performance-based procurement method that uses historic performance information to select the expected best performing contractor. In a theoretical model, a PiPS is interpreted as a set of contractual and organisational safeguards. Through a survey, based on this model, the perceived effects of the PiPS safeguards for both clients and contractors are investigated.

Both clients and contractors believe that applying PiPS introduces safeguards that reduce transaction uncertainty. The perceived changes in the discouragement to use opportunistic behaviour when using PiPS differ between client and contractor. Clients do not know and contractors are sceptical as to whether applying PiPS discourages opportunistic behaviour. This difference in perceptions can be explained by the often-traditional background of the two parties’ project teams and the existence of information asymmetry.

This is one of the first studies to show that changes in the transaction environment in a performance-based procurement process are perceived differently by the client and the contractor. It is necessary to align the roles of both parties to avoid problems related to opportunistic behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of core self-evaluations (CSE) and change uncertainty on job satisfaction and turnover intentions within the context of an organizational change. Because individuals high in CSE are expected to be able to cope better with uncertainty, the authors also tested the mitigating effect of CSE on the change uncertainty-attitude relationships.

Surveys were completed and returned by 398 employees in the midst of a merger containing measures of CSE, change uncertainty, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. The survey was voluntary and administered cross-sectionally.

Change uncertainty was found to negatively influence job satisfaction and positively influence turnover intentions. Additionally, CSE positively impacted job satisfaction and negatively impacted turnover intentions. High CSE was also found to minimize the negative impact of examined change uncertainty-job attitude relationships.

The research has implications for the role of CSE in attitude formation within a change context and adds to existing literature supporting the detrimental effects of change uncertainty on job attitudes. Also, the study provided evidence of how CSE interacts with change uncertainty reducing the detrimental impact on job attitudes. Future research should continue to examine the role of CSE in the way employees react to other change-related stressors.

The relationships among change uncertainty, CSE, and job attitudes were explored through a theoretical lens and tested empirically using employees in the midst of an organizational change.

In a context of greater environmental uncertainty, understanding the practices and strategies adopted by the SME owner-manager to deal with it is an important topic.

Based on a questionnaire survey of 583 SME owner-managers, a cluster analysis based on the degree of perceived uncertainty was conducted.

A statistical differences across a continuum with regard to entrepreneurial orientation, information gathering, management and absorption practices, innovation and internationalization was observed. These results show that the behaviors, and strategies deployed by SME owner managers are adapted to the degree of uncertainty these individuals perceive. Moreover, these results are not linked to their individual profiles nor to those of their companies.

The results show how SME owner-managers can increase their capacity to face uncertainty by collecting different types of information from different sources, by traveling abroad, by hiring personal with diverse profiles and by dealing with situations outside their norms. Public authorities in economic development interested to promote entrepreneurial decisions are invited to produce and diffuse valuable information to reduce uncertainty perceived by owner managers to support SMEs.

This research is original in that no study has holistically examined the link between uncertainty and the strategic and organizational practices of SMEs. It also responds to political and managerial concerns to effectively support SMEs under conditions of uncertainty – contexts that are increasingly important these days.

The study aims to demonstrate how different arrangements and characteristics of institutions can generate or mitigate uncertainty thereby facilitating or hampering the possibilities of entrepreneurial action.

This is a conceptual paper that advances the theoretical understanding of the relationship between entrepreneurial uncertainty and the different institutional levels, their characteristics and their interplay.

Entrepreneurial uncertainty also comes from the institutional environment and this has direct impact on the propensity to take action. The characteristics of the different institutional levels, in specific, their quality, stability, alignment and the burden imposed by L2 impact in the emergence of entrepreneurial uncertainty.

This is a conceptual paper that makes a number of theoretical suggestions which need to be further analyzed by empirical work.

The findings suggest that different institutional levels need to be dealt with differently by research studies and institutional agents, including policy makers. Among others, the findings also suggest that stability is key to entrepreneurship and that the benefits of high quality regulation can be undermined by its excessive burden, reducing entrepreneurial action and harming development.

Institutional actors should provide stability and allow for the improvement of the environment overall. Specifically, policy makers should aim at good quality regulation that is valid across the board, that provides stability and gives room for improvement of the institutions. Policy makers should refrain from trying to foster specific industries; they should instead provide a leveled playing field without trying to direct the entrepreneurial efforts towards an industry or geographic region and without being overly demeaning.

This research breaks new ground. It unites ideas from entrepreneurship and institutions suggesting a novel, much more nuanced approach to their interplay. The results can be used by scholars in the fields of entrepreneurship, institutions and economic development. They also have the potential to help to educate policy makers in their quest to improve the context for entrepreneurs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how perceptions of risk influenced teachers’ sensemaking and actions during a professional learning and development (PLD) initiative where teachers were expected to change their practices.

A risk perception lens, focussed on uncertainty, was used to capture the on-going experiences of teachers as they participated in PLD. The PLD, delivered by one organisation, focussed on developing teacher use and understanding of formative assessment practices. Data for this three-school qualitative exploratory case study of teachers’ perceptions of risk primarily utilised qualitative interviews.

Findings identified that teachers perceived risk and experienced feelings of vulnerability as a result of their on-going assessment and evaluation of the uncertainty in the professional learning context. The perceived risk informed teachers’ responses and actions, ultimately impacting on teachers’ learning.

The risk perception process model developed from the findings and conceptual framework provides a tool for educators to navigate and reduce perceived risk and enhance learning in change.

This research advances the conceptualisation of perceived risk in PLD. It challenges the current concept of teachers’ resistance and instead considers the role of their perceptions of risk, broadening the understanding of responses to educational change.

Reassesses the relationships between managerial perceptions of movement and discontinuities in the environment, and managers’ abilities and proneness toward engaging in information‐gathering activities. Survey data from several organizations in different industries were collected to investigate the scanning behavior of managers. Finds empirical support for some of the relationships that were proposed. Explores possible explanations for the lack of support for several important relationships that have been advanced in the literature, and submits managerial implications and suggestions for future research based on the findings.

Effective change management is important for organizational development, but without knowing what features of change situations impact on employee behavior it is difficult to manage change successfully. Considering the changing age demographic of the Australian workforce and the shortage of skilled labor, the purpose of this study is to examine the important age group of young professionals and its perceptions toward organizational change.

Based on Lazarus and Folkman's cognitive phenomenological model of stress and coping, a framework of change perceptions was used to analyze young professionals' experience of change. A confirmatory factor analysis has been conducted surveying a sample of 261 young professionals from a diverse set of Australian organizations.

The analysis found that frequency of change and planning for change are significantly related to uncertainty, and in turn, that uncertainty is significantly related to job satisfaction and behavioral stress. Interestingly, it was found that although frequency of change is positively related to uncertainty, it is also positively related to job satisfaction. Findings indicate which features of change situations are related to poor well‐being outcomes and are therefore important for managers implementing change and working with young professionals.

The present study clarifies the relationship between young professionals and their perceptions of change. Practical implications of the findings for managers are discussed. Some recommendations for future research are provided.