Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour

Personality and Individual Differences 265 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2026.114104

Journal of Business Research 218 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116566

Motivation and Emotion Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-026-10211-y

Australian Journal of Career Development 35(3) p. 386-394 Doi: https://doi-org.bi.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/10384162261486167

In consideration of sustainable development as a fourth paradigm for twenty-first century careers, our research explored the phenomenon of career uncertainty among young people. We specifically investigated how young people from Italy and Norway appraised career uncertainty and how they coped with it. Eight online focus groups were conducted with a total sample consisting of 52 young people from both countries. Our findings revealed that young people appraised career uncertainty based on different aspects, namely, external and internal factors, career decision-making experiences, and actualization of career aspirations. We also found that young people enacted both future-oriented and present-oriented responses to cope with their career uncertainty. Our study provides implications for the guidance and career counselling of young people to help improve their sense of security and the sustainable development of their careers.

Scandinavian Journal of Management Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2026.101479

Research has shown that while ambiguity can generate short-term change, it typically leads to confusion and inertia over time. This paper challenges this assumption of the relative short-lived usefulness of ambiguity. Drawing on a longitudinal case study of a large public service organisation, we examine how top management successfully managed ambiguity to facilitate a long-term organisational transformation. On this basis, we theorise an iterative model of ambiguity management: First, cultivation of ambiguity (i.e. the active expansion of interpretive space) through the distribution of ambiguity via stakeholder involvement and the delegation of ambiguity by withholding sensegiving. Second, calibration of ambiguity (i.e. the stabilising of the interpretative space) by confirming ambiguity through substantive actions and contracting it via the articulation of strategic boundaries. We contribute to the literature on ambiguity management by demonstrating that organisational change outcomes depend on a recursive balancing of these two practices, which enables the accommodation of the inclusive and creative effects of strategic ambiguity while preventing the downsides highlighted in previous research.