Preparing for Novel Situations: Evoking Managerial Role Identities

Coping with novel situations necessitates drawing substantially on personal knowledge and experience. The authors report a study of how master of business administration (MBA) students thought about impending in-company project work, which from the authors' perspective had novel aspects. The authors use the notion of situational role identity expressed metaphorically to explore how the students anticipated project demands. The authors present their findings in various ways, including cognitive maps, and conclude that management students can enhance preparation for major project work by considering role-based as well as task-based demands and possibilities. A similar conclusion may be germane for many managers facing novel situations.