Individual Characteristics as Sources of Perceived Uncertainty Variability

Most contingency theorists have focused on perceived environmental characteristics while ignoring the possible impact of individual differences among subjects. The view that an organization is for the most part what people perceive it to be suggests the need to identify the potential role of individual differences in the perceptions of organizational properties. Four sources of variability in the perception of uncertainty were suggested and measured with a sample of 5i corporate division managers. Cognitive process variables were more consistently related to a manager's perceived uncertainty than were perceived environmental variables.