Influence of managers’ time orientation on strategic practices in the UAE : The moderating role of environmental uncertainty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between time orientation and strategic practices in the context of an Arab country. Toward this end, the paper studies a conditional process model that assesses the role of visioning ability and perceived uncertainty in explaining how future-oriented managers may be better at strategic management. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a quantitative research design with closed-ended questionnaires as the main mode of data collection, and applies bootstrapping technique to test the significance and validity of the conditional process model. Findings The results confirm that time orientation influences strategic practices in an organization through its impact on a manager’s visioning ability, when uncertainty in the environment is perceived as low-moderate. The study also notes that local managers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tend to be relatively future oriented and demonstrate a greater preference toward strategic work in comparison to operational tasks. Research limitations/implications The scope of this study has been limited to UAE nationals, and generalization of these results should be done with caution. Future research is recommended on a wider geographical area, such that cross-national results can be used to better understand the concept of time orientation in Arab countries. Originality/value Findings of this paper contribute to the literature by studying the concept of time orientation in a unique cultural domain. Moreover, by providing a theoretically relevant model for understanding the relationship between time orientation and strategic practices, the study highlights the significance of environmental uncertainty, and the importance of developing the visioning abilities of those involved in strategic roles in an organization.