Staring down the lion : uncertainty avoidance and operational risk culture in a tourism organisation

Abstract

This study interrogated operational risk-based decision-making in the face of uncertainty in a large African safari tourism organisation, by exploring individual and perceived team member approaches to operational uncertainty. The academic literature is not clear on how uncertainty influences the inclusion of operational risk in decision-making. Social psychologist Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance served as an entry point to design the research questions. A vignette-based qualitative data collection method was applied using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. These snapshot vignettes consisted of four scenarios pertaining to organisation-specific operational risks. Convenience sampling was used to identify 15 senior managers in a geographically dispersed safari organisation. Participants were identified in three domains of work: safari camp; regional office and head office. They were asked to describe their own reactions and decisions, as well as how they thought other managers would react to uncertainties in specific operational contexts. The data were qualitatively analysed for different participants in different roles and positions in the organisation. The findings indicated that approaches to uncertainty in the selected multi-national safari organisation were influenced by factors including situational context, the availability and communication of information, level of relevant operational experience, and participants’ role in the organisation. These factors are likely to influence decision-making in the context of operational risk under conditions of uncertainty, especially in geographically dispersed organisations. A preliminary model reveals that decision-making in the face of uncertainty may in practice be more complex than existing theoretical studies propose, specifically in relation to individual perceptions of uncertainty in organisational decision-making