Managers’ Information Seeking Behaviors During Organizational Change:A Pre- and Post-Event Analysis

The purpose of the present study is to explore managers’ information seeking behaviors during organizational change. Surveys were distributed to managers at all position levels in a telecommunications company in Taiwan two months before restructuring and two months after restructuring respectively. A total of 659 responses (332 responses before restructuring and 327 responses after restructuring) were received. Three important results were found. First, managers generally did not have different information seeking behaviors before and after organizational restructuring. Second, gender did not make any difference in managers’ information seeking behaviors during restructuring. Third, managers’ positions made a difference in their information seeking behaviors before organizational restructuring. Managers with higher position levels were more likely to obtain information through observing the behaviors of others and reading memos, annual reports, or written documents rather than directly asking bosses or colleagues.