Ambiguity as strategy in organizational communication

Eisenberg, Eric M.

doi:10.1080/03637758409390197

Cited by 914 publications

(743 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Strategically ambiguous statements intentionally lack specificity in order to achieve an organizational objective (Eisenberg 1984). In these examples, the objective was consensus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From strategic ambiguity to technical reference points in the Antarctic krill fishery: the worst journey in the world?

Hill

2013

Envir. Conserv.

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SUMMARYThe goals of ecosystem based management (EBM) are strategically ambiguous, meaning that they require interpretation to identify objectives for ecosystem state. Ecosystem states that are useful for achieving such objectives are known as reference points. Soft reference points specify both a state and a probability of the ecosystem being in that state. They are used with simulation models to identify management measures for which the risk of the ecosystem entering an undesirable state is below a specified level. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is responsible for the EBM of Antarctic krill fisheries. CCAMLR used soft reference points for the krill stock in the Scotia Sea and southern Drake Passage to set a regional catch limit. However, this catch limit needs spatial subdivision to protect predators from localized depletion. Modelbased evaluations of different options for subdividing the catch limit used illustrative reference points to assess the depletion risk to multiple predators. This study demonstrates that the apparent risk is sensitive to the choice of reference point and method for aggregating modelled predators. EBM practitioners and stakeholders need to be aware that these factors could therefore bias comparisons of management measures. Nonetheless, qualitative distinctions between different spatial subdivision options are relatively consistent except at high levels of aggregation and extreme reference points. This study also demonstrates a lack of generality in the relationship between current and future ecosystem state. Thus, the EBM goal of maintaining ecosystem resilience implies different reference points for the current state of different ecosystem components. Despite early progress in defining soft reference points for the krill stock, CCAMLR has not yet defined reference points for krill predators. Structured dialogue aimed at identifying collective objectives * Correspondence: Dr Simeon Hill e-mail: sih@bas.ac.uk The online version of this article is published within an Open Access environment subject to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence . The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use. might be necessary to achieve further progress in CCAMLR and other EBM organizations.

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“…Strategically ambiguous statements intentionally lack specificity in order to achieve an organizational objective (Eisenberg 1984). In these examples, the objective was consensus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these examples, the objective was consensus. Eisenberg (1984) argued that strategic ambiguity can be more helpful than clear communication during periods of uncertainty or rapid change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From strategic ambiguity to technical reference points in the Antarctic krill fishery: the worst journey in the world?

Hill

2013

Envir. Conserv.

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“…Past research has demon strated that firms can and do act in complex environments despite interpretive differences (Donnellon et al, 1986;Fiol, 1994). In fact, ambiguity may facilitate strategic change (Eisenberg, 1984;Gioia and Chittipeddi, 1991) with contradictions serving as a potential source of novel ideas and actions (Fiol, 1995).…”

Section: Levers To Market-focused Strategic Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Achieving adaptive ends through equivocality: A study of organizational antecedents and consequences

Neill¹,

Rose²

2007

Journal of Business Research

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Confronting complex situations is the hallmark of strategic decision-making. While these situations may be perceived as equivocal, organizations must cope, act, and thrive within such ambiguities. This study explores the manifestation and regulation of equivocality during strategic marketing decision-making. The results indicate that organizations that tolerate ambiguity perceive greater equivocality in problem situations and exhibit greater adaptive behavior; however, the findings come with a caveat: while experienced firms may enjoy these benefits, the situation is more complex for firms with limited product-market knowledge.Keywords: Marketing decisions; Equivocality; Innovation; Performance; Knowledge In dynamic environments, understanding is transitory. Given the novel, complex, and indefinite nature of strategic decisions (Mintzberg et al., 1976), organizations may benefit from an open and broad interpretive capability in order to effectively model and adapt to external forces. Formulaic thinking is better suited to closed-systems where maintenance and stability are present and learning is not necessary. The challenge is in managing and remaining attuned to the equivocal inputs that manifest during strategic decision-making in information intensive environ ments while not succumbing to equivocality's befuddling effect. While prior studies (e.g., Day, 1994;Sinkula et al., 1997) suggest that the organization should broaden its perception and be open-minded, unresolved is the mechanism that allows for the emergence of equivocality without succumbing to its disorient ing nature, which might dampen performance.This study examines the relationship between organizational interpretation and action by capturing both the emergence and effect of equivocality during strategic marketing decisionmaking. The paper directly examines equivocality and its ante cedents and consequences. Equivocality is defined as a problem situation with multiple, possibly contradictory, interpretations that manifest during decision-making (Daft and Lengel, 1986). When viewed as interpretation systems (Daft and Weick, 1984), organizations may be challenged when confronted with equivo cality. Thus, several questions guide this research: 1) what are the organizational levers to equivocality and strategic change? 2) how do organizations regulate equivocality during strategic marketing decision-making? and 3) what are the consequences of equivocality? To examine these questions, we first present a conceptual framework and develop hypotheses, then describe the study method. After reporting the analyses and results, we discuss the study's findings, limitations, and implications.

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“…The law of requisite variety implies that differentiated scholars can better sense a complex knowledge environment. From a fragmentation perspective, ambiguity of purpose fosters the existence of multiple viewpoints, which promotes agreement on abstractions so that specific interpretations are not limited (Eisenberg, 1984). With a multiplicity of viewpoints and ambitions, ambiguity is hypothesized to improve innovation (Martin & Meyerson, 1988).…”

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Perspectives of Academia: Toward a Model of Cultural Complexity

Smerek

2010

Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research

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Ambiguity as strategy in organizational communication

Cited by 914 publications

References 29 publications

From strategic ambiguity to technical reference points in the Antarctic krill fishery: the worst journey in the world?

From strategic ambiguity to technical reference points in the Antarctic krill fishery: the worst journey in the world?

Achieving adaptive ends through equivocality: A study of organizational antecedents and consequences

Cultural Perspectives of Academia: Toward a Model of Cultural Complexity

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