Context-specific understandings of uncertainty: a focus on people management practices in Mongolia

This paper addresses the link between local understandings of uncertainty and people management practices in the under-researched and uncertain context of Mongolia. It draws on a qualitative, interpretive study of 34 top and middle managers with people management responsibilities in Mongolian organisations. We put forward the concept of a ‘mindset about uncertainty’ for examining Mongolian practitioners’ understandings of and responses to the uncertainty inherent in the country’s institutional environment. We identify four elements of the Mongolian mindset about uncertainty: (1) belief that impermanence is natural; (2) consideration of uncertainty as normal; (3) framing of uncertainty as positive; and (4) emphasis on flexibility in adapting to changing circumstances. We discuss this approach to dealing with uncertainty as a potentially valuable source of learning for Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and International Human Resource Development (IHRD) practitioners in unstable environments.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the International Journal of Human Resource Management on 22 September 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09585192.2020.1819856