Employee Uncertainty Over Digital Transformation - Mechanisms and Solutions

This book delves into the psychological and behavioral impact of the advent of digital transformation (DX) on white-collar employees in the modern organizational context. It uncovers how DX-driven uncertainty affects these workers' professional identity, self-efficacy, and job performance from a communication-centered perfective. While effective leadership can serve as a buffer, the intricate dynamics of these relationships await further exploration.

To unravel these complex issues, the book employs an array of theoretical frameworks that have been tested against large, time-separated, dyadic datasets collected in Japan. In so doing, the studies introduced in this book illuminate how employees make sense of and communicate the uncertainties they face. Furthermore, it highlights a vision-driven leadership style and scrutinizes its unique attributes and limitations for addressing team members' uncertainty.

This book is indispensable for executives and managers; it is a roadmap to steering digital transformation efforts without igniting resistance or conflict among frontline staff. For researchers, it's an invaluable resource for analyzing the mechanism of uncertainty management in today's fast-paced, tech-centric environments. Moreover, the book bridges the gap between interpersonal communication studies and other pivotal disciplines, such as leadership, management, organizational behavior, and social psychology in the context of stress and coping with uncertainty.

Masaki Matsunaga (Ph.D. in Communication Arts & Sciences, Pennsylvania State University) is an associate professor of leadership and communication at Kyushu University Business School, Fukuoka, Japan. He has published more than 30 articles and chapters in renowned outlets, such as Communication Monographs, Communication Research, Human Communication Research, Human Resource Management, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, as well as Routledge Handbook of Bullying and Communication, International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods, and International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication. He also provides consulting and leadership development training services for enterprises including but not limited to Coca Cola Bottlers Japan, NEC Corporation, and TAKTOPIA & Co. He is the recipient of Best Papers Award of the Organizational Behavior Division at the 2021 Academy of Management annual conference and also has received a number of top paper awards at regional, national, and international conferences.