Employee Uncertainty and Information-Seeking in Newly Formed Expansion Organizations

Abstract

Longitudinal data regarding uncertainty and information-seeking were obtained from employees in several newly formed expansion organizations (NFEOs). Results indicate that employees were most uncertain about task requirements and the viability of the new organization—a previously unidentified type of employee uncertainty. NFEO employees relied most frequently on their supervisors and their prior work experience for all types of information. Perceptions of the social costs of seeking information were low throughout the study but increased significantly over time. Results indicate that information-seeking from coworkers was influenced primarily by source credibility in the early period of employment and by social cost perceptions in the later period of employment.