ON AMBIGUITY TOLERANCE (AT) AND ROLES IN NPD TEAMS: TOWARDS A NUANCED UNDERSTANDING OF AT

Abstract

Many authors agree that ambiguity must be tolerated in innovation processes. There is however little research relating the concept of ambiguity tolerance (AT) to participants in new product development (NPD) projects. This paper adds to previous research where AT has been studied among entrepreneurs and managers. It shows that NPD team members in a variety of innovation-related roles can exhibit both tolerance and intolerance for ambiguity. To explain the seeming contradiction, this paper suggests distinguishing between dispositional AT as a personality variable and enacted AT as a behavioural variable. This research contributes towards a wider theoretical understanding of AT among NPD project participants, and proposes a new agenda for further research on AT in innovation. This research agenda will have managerial implications as it can improve an organisation's ability to succeed in NPD by selecting project managers and team members with appropriate capabilities to manage ambiguity.