Abstract
This paper examines how arts, culture, and identity can be recognised in management practice characterised by increasing economic uncertainty within a rapidly changing business environment. It challenges the dominance of technocratic and efficiency-driven approaches, arguing that such models are limited in their ability to respond to volatile economic environments. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights from the cultural economy, cultural entrepreneurship, management theory, and critical thinking, the study develops a culturally embedded framework of decision-making that emphasises meaning-making, socially situated knowledge, and creative cognition. Central to the analysis is a conceptual chain linking uncertainty to adaptive decision-making, meaning making, culturally embedded cognition, creativity, innovation, and storytelling, which serves as a mechanism for legitimacy and value creation. Through a conceptual and integrative approach, the paper recognises cultural entrepreneurs as agents of transformation who navigate uncertainty by mobilising narratives, identities, and creative processes. A thematic analysis translates these insights into practical lessons for strategic managers, highlighting the importance of adaptability, narrative construction, and identity alignment. The findings propose that organisations which integrate culturally embedded approaches to decision-making are better positioned to navigate volatility, sustain stakeholder legitimacy, and generate adaptive capacity in conditions of persistent uncertainty. The proposed framework offers strategic managers a supporting orientation toward meaning-making, narrative construction, and identity alignment as core organisational competencies.