Search results

An empirical investigation examining the environmental uncertainty regarding inventory ordering which confronts a retailer in dealing with its suppliers is described. Of particular interest is how this uncertainty impacts on retailers' behavioural relationships with their suppliers. The findings indicate that increased levels of environmental uncertainty regarding inventory ordering result in higher levels of retailer‐supplier conflict. Suppliers that can offer retailers better customer service in order to reduce environmental uncertainty can improve their relations with retailers and thus develop a more efficient distribution system.

This paper discusses the organizational role of social welfare in attempting to reduce or control uncertainty in the environment of individuals and in the wider community. It is suggested that differing degrees of environmental turbulence require different responses from social welfare organizations and social policy‐makers.

This research advances the understanding of entrepreneurial decisions in the context of perceived uncertainty related to regional political instability. Using qualitative data from a sample of 29 entrepreneurs, we captured the entrepreneurs' perceptions of uncertainty and how these perceptions informed their judgement and led to confidence in their decisions. The perceptions of uncertainty that influenced the entrepreneurs' decision-making were grouped into three main categories: efforts to understand changes in regional markets; efforts to understand changes in local markets; and identifying multiple and compounded layers of uncertainty. The entrepreneurs' decisions were informed by the interactions between their perceptions of a dynamic and changing environment and their judgements about mobilizing resources in response to that environment. The findings of this research extend the current understanding of how entrepreneurs use judgement to arrive at decisions in contexts of uncertainty and highlight the dynamic relationship between individuals and context. The research has theoretical and practical implications for developing and leveraging entrepreneurial decision-making in uncertain environments.

Smog pollution in China has drawn worldwide attention. Using companies' data from Chinese Securities Markets and Accounting Research database (CSMAR) and air quality monitoring data from China National Environmental Monitoring Centre(CNEMC), we employ the PM2.5 concentration as a proxy for smog pollution and examine the effect of smog pollution on company environmental uncertainty and operating investment in 74 key cities in China. The empirical results show that smog pollution causes an increase in company environmental uncertainty and a decrease in operating investment for Chinese listed companies, with environmental uncertainty as a mediating variable. Smog pollution can positively influence companies' environmental uncertainty through their employees and high pressure from the public and government. According to the real-options-based investment approach, companies choose to "wait and see" and, correspondingly, reduce operating investment under high environmental uncertainty such as that caused by smog pollution. Additionally, we find that state-owned enterprises are more significantly influenced by smog pollution in terms of environmental uncertainty and operating investment because of their close relationships with the government and their responsibility to set an example among Chinese companies in the fight against smog pollution.

This research aims to examine the effect of environmental uncertainty on tax aggressiveness. Moreover, this research also examines the effect of managerial ability, as a moderating variable, in the relationship between environmental uncertainty and tax aggressiveness. This research is useful to the government in identifying the taxpayer's aggressiveness, particularly in an uncertain business environment. This research uses secondary data obtained from the annual report of 92 manufacturing companies as a sample. The hypothesis testing is done using Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA). The variables used in this study are environmental uncertainty (as the independent variable), tax aggressiveness (dependent variable) and managerial ability (moderating variable). This study is found that there is a positive relationship between environmental uncertainty towards tax aggressiveness. Moreover, this study also found that managerial ability roles can influence the relationship between environmental uncertainty and tax aggressiveness. The existence of managerial ability can weaken the relationship of environmental uncertainty on tax aggressiveness.

PurposeThis paper is to examine whether organizational ambidexterity leads to success. Moreover, it attempts to understand how proactiveness and quality orientation might create and maintain ambidexterity. Environmental uncertainty as a moderator is also examined.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve these objectives an empirical survey was conducted among 449 firms in Greece. Initially, EFA and then CFA were applied. Finally, the structural relationships among the latent factors were determined through SEM.FindingsOrganizational ambidexterity leads to superior business performance, moreover, the two antecedents were positively related to organizational ambidexterity. Environmental uncertainty acts as a moderator between organizational ambidexterity– business performance and proactiveness–organizational ambidexterity.Research limitations/implicationsA research challenge is to understand how organizations develop ambidexterity competency in different organizational structure. Moreover, it will be important to expand the model by taking into consideration different factors of antecedents, for example, type of innovation or different strategic orientations.Practical implicationsThis study sends the message that companies focussing on specific antecedents can be led to higher ambidexterity capabilities, which in turn act as a catalyst for business improvement.Originality/valueThe proposed model provides plausible guidelines that advance organizational ambidexterity research in the companies.