MAKING SENSE OF THE ENVIRONMENT - THE ROLE OF PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS

This manuscript develops and explores two ideas: (1) that perceptions of environmental uncertainty are after-the-fact rationalizations used by decision makers to explain strong or weak effectiveness assessments , and (2) that different contexts motivate different sense-making outc omes. The findings, based on a sample of senior decision makers from 3 4 firms in two industries, suggest that assessments of effectiveness a nd perceptions of environmental uncertainty are related through decisi on makers' sense-making efforts. The manuscript also addresses the lim itations and implications of these results.