The link between environmental uncertainty, organizational agility, and organizational creativity in the hotel industry

•This study tests the links between environmental uncertainty, organizational creativity and organizational agility.•The data were collected from 174 managers of five-star hotels.•Environmental uncertainty negatively impacts organizational creativity.•Organizational agility moderates the negative impacts of competitive and technological uncertainty on creativity. Informed by the confusion theory, this study tests the three main aspects of environmental uncertainty on organizational creativity and extends the moderating model of organizational agility in uncertain environments. The data were collected from 174 managers of five-star hotels. Construct validity and the hypotheses were tested using AMOS 26.0. The findings show that organizational agility moderates the negative impacts of competitive and technological uncertainty on organizational creativity. The results suggest that in highly dynamic and complex environments, organizations must reduce bureaucracy to manage the challenges of uncertainty. Informed by the confusion and contingency theories, this study offers new insights into the relationship between environmental uncertainty, organizational creativity, and organizational agility in the hospitality industry.