Behavioral approach to managing strategic transformations under conditions of uncertainty

Abstract

The article examines the theoretical and methodological foundations for applying a behavioral approach to managing strategic transformations in business organizations under conditions of uncertainty. It shows that the effectiveness of strategic change depends not only on the quality of formal strategy and resource provision, but also on employees’ and managers’ behavioral reactions shaped by bounded rationality, cognitive biases, emotional states, trust, group norms, and corporate culture. The study systematizes the behavioral factors influencing managerial decision-making during transformation and identifies their consequences for the speed of adaptation, the quality of strategic choice, and employees’ acceptance of change. The study generalizes leadership mechanisms that support transformation, including emotionally competent interaction, transformational influence, trust building, and employee involvement. The study identifies the main organizational and psychological threats: resistance to change, cognitive traps, psycho-emotional exhaustion, crisis of trust, group disorganization, and value dissonance; it also proposes directions for diagnosing them. The study develops a conceptual architecture for the behavioral management of strategic transformations, integrating behavioral determinants, leadership mechanisms, zones of organizational vulnerability, team readiness assessment, and managerial interventions. This architecture shifts from reactive responses to resistance to preventive management of behavioral risks, increases employee engagement, strengthens organizational resilience, and supports more manageable implementation of strategic change. The approach’s practical value lies in its use during the preparation, implementation, and control stages of transformation to select relevant communication, leadership, and diagnostic tools based on the organization’s actual context. Keywords: strategic transformations, behavioral management, behavioral determinants, managerial decision-making, leadership, organizational trust, resistance to change, resilience.