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ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the tolerance of ambiguity in entrepreneurs of microenterprises, using Budner's 16-item scale. There is some confusion in the literature regarding whether entrepreneurs should be highly tolerant of ambiguity or intolerant. Results from this study support the view that entrepreneurs of small businesses are very intolerant of ambiguity. One reason that entrepreneurs are intolerant of ambiguity is attributed to the entrepreneurial role having less ambiguity than other roles in companies.
INTRODUCTION
Budner (1962) defined an ambiguous situation as "one which cannot be adequately structured or categorized by an individual because of the lack of sufficient cues" (p. 30). Teoh and Foo (1997) noted "tolerance of ambiguity then is the ability to respond positively to ambiguous situations" (p. 72). Budner (1962) defined intolerance of ambiguity as the tendency to perceive ambiguous situations as sources of threat. People who have low levels of tolerance for ambiguity tend to find unstructured and uncertain situations uncomfortable and want to avoid these situations (Lumpkin & Erdogan, 2000). Individuals who are intolerant of ambiguity are also more rigid and conventional (Budner, 1962). Individuals high on tolerance of ambiguity appear to be confident about decisions made in an ambiguous environment without attempting to seek more information (Teoh & Foo, 1997). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tolerance of ambiguity in entrepreneurs of microenterprises, using a 16-question scale developed by Budner (1962).
Budner (1962) constructed a 16-question scale to measure intolerance of ambiguity. He tested his scale on 17 sample groups of college students, with mean score results ranging from 43.3 to 53.0. Lower score results indicate more tolerance for ambiguity than higher scores. Budner's data indicate that those students who are intolerant of ambiguity choose more structured fields of study.
Ambiguity tolerance was later extended to the study of individuals in organizations, and more specifically, the entrepreneur (Furnham & Ribchester, 1995). Prior literature has depicted the entrepreneur as a person who must deal with an uncertain, turbulent and complex world (Dollinger, 1983). Moreover, entrepreneurs face organizational events that are frequently uncertain and unstructured, so they must have the willingness and ability to cope with uncertainty to be successful (Lumpkin & Erdogan, 2000). Also, entrepreneurs may be more proactive because they are required to think...