MODERATING EFFECTS OF TOLERANCE FOR AMBIGUITY AND RISK-TAKING PROPENSITY ON THE ROLE CONFLICT-PERCEIVED PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP - EVIDENCEFROM SINGAPOREAN ENTREPRENEURS

This study investigates the effects of tolerance for ambiguity and ris k-taking propensity in mediating the relationships between role confli ct and perceived performance among 70 entrepreneurs in small and mediu m-sized businesses in Singapore. Entrepreneurial activity has been wid ely recognized as a major factor driving Singapore's economic developm ent. Further insights therefore can be gained by this study, which add resses the above issues from the perspective of Singaporean entreprene urs. As Sounders of their their enterprises, entrepreneurs are often i nvolved with many aspects of activities that create a high potential f or conflict, having to play multiple roles, coping with competing and conflicting demands, and overcoming or accommodating to constraints. R ole conflict faced by the entrepreneur can impede the entrepreneur's a bility to perform effectively. However, the relationship between role conflict and perceived performance is not direct. Many entrepreneurial decisions will also involve ambiguity, because these decisions result in actions that are innovative and original. As entrepreneurs, they w ill have a significantly greater capacity to tolerate ambiguity than m anagers have. This suggests that an entrepreneur's tolerance SOY ambig uity may be able to assist in dealing with, or to moderate, the advers e personal effects of role pressures generated by role conflict. inves tigation into this is the thrust of the first part of this research. T he literature on entrepreneurship has often portrayed the entrepreneur as a risk-taker with expectation of receiving a profit as reward for this risk-bearing. Many studies on risk-taking behavior among entrepre neurs are focused on the risk-profile of entrepreneurs, that is, wheth er entrepreneurs are decidedly more risk-taking than nonentrepreneurs. In this second part of research, the investigation examines whether t he effects of role conflict on performance outcomes are tempered by th e entrepreneur's risk-taking propensity. An entrepreneur with high ris k-taking propensity is more likely to succeed in coping with uncertain ty and minimizing role stress than one with low risk-taking propensity .Results indicate that Singaporean entrepreneurs higher on tolerance f or ambiguity or in risk-taking propensity are better positioned to ''n eutralize'' the effects of role stress in the entrepreneurial role, le ading to better performance outcomes. The weaker interactive effects h owever could be explained by several constraining circumstances: ''the stringent control and omnipresence of the government in most business es'' (Tan and Tay 1994); ''dominance of MNCs in key industries, and th e domination of government-linked businesses in various services'' (Bo ey and Chiam-Lee 1994)-all of which are said to somewhat discourage ri sk-taking and uncertainty-bearing. Despite the small moderator effects these findings should be of significance to practitioners, because th ey suggest that the examination of the relationship between role confl ict and performance would be incomplete without also considering the m oderating effects of tolerance for ambiguity and risk-taking propensit y. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.