#11949. Organizational Rules and Cognitive Uncertainty Among Public Professionals: A Daily Diary Study

August 2026publication date
Proposal available till 03-06-2025
4 total number of authors per manuscript0 $

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Journal’s subject area:
Sociology and Political Science;
Public Administration;
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Abstract:
Although public management and human resource management research has extensively investigated the motivational effects of organizational rules, the original utility of organizational rules—uncertainty reduction—has remained overlooked. This study takes a cognitive perspective by examining how organizational rules relate to uncertainty experiences of public professionals. In this study, we provide a dynamic perspective on the relationship between organizational rules and uncertainty through a 2-week daily online diary study among 65 public professionals. The results indicate that the amount and consistency of rules are related to professionals’ daily uncertainty experiences. We argue that a cognitive perspective of uncertainty reduction can broaden our understanding of the consequences of organizational rules in managing people, and that the dynamic nature of organizational rule experiences cannot be a mere footnote in future public administration and human resource management research.
Keywords:
Cognitive uncertainty; diary study; formalization; green tape; red tape; rule characteristics

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