Achieving contextual ambidexterity in R&D organizations: a management control system approach

Research on how managers control R&D activities has tended to focus on the performance measurement systems used to exploit existing knowledge and capabilities. This focus has been at the expense of how broader forms of management control could be used to enable R&D contextual ambidexterity, the capacity to attain appropriate levels of exploitation and exploration behaviors in the same R&D organizational unit. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework for understanding how different types of control system, guided by different R&D strategic goals, can be used to induce and balance both exploitation and exploration. We illustrate the elements of this framework and their relations using data from biotechnology firms, and then discuss how the framework provides a basis to empirically examine a number of important control relationships and phenomena.     

Resource ambidexterity through alliance portfolios and firm performance

Research summary : Partner resources can be an important alternative to internal firm resources for attaining dual and seemingly incompatible strategic objectives. We extend arguments about managing conflicting objectives typically made at the firm level to the level of a firm's alliance portfolio. Specifically, will a balance between revenue enhancement and cost reduction attained collectively through partner resources accessed via a firm's various alliances be similarly beneficial for firm performance? Additionally, how do strategic attributes of alliance portfolio configuration, specifically alliance portfolio size and partner resource scope, condition the balance‐performance relationship? Based on data from the global airline industry, we find support for the balance‐performance relationship, though such balance is less beneficial for firms in the case of access to a broader resource scope per partner . Managerial summary : Increasing revenue and reducing costs simultaneously can potentially enhance firm competitiveness. We highlight that an alliance strategy can be an important alternative to internal resources for attaining such dual strategic objectives, particularly when partner resources accessed through alliances are treated collectively as portfolios. We examine the importance of balancing product‐market extending and efficiency‐improving partner resources in the global airline industry as well as the impact of two alternate strategies for accessing resources through alliances: fewer partners with more resources per partner or more partners with fewer resources per partner. We find that resource balance at the portfolio level helps airlines improve performance. Our results also suggest that managers should be cautious of accessing too many resources through just a few partners . Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining cross-functional coopetition as a driver of organizational ambidexterity

Despite the growing number of articles on coopetition, research in the area still lacks insights into this phenomenon on an intraorganizational level. Therefore, this study examines the effect of cross-functional, firm-internal coopetition on organizational ambidexterity (i.e., exploitation and exploration) and the moderating role of social cohesion. Drawing on organizational learning theory and analyzing survey data obtained from 392 department heads and project leaders of new product development teams, we demonstrate that cross-functional coopetition has a significant positive effect on exploratory innovation. Moreover, we find support for the moderating influence of social cohesion on the relationship between coopetition and exploitative innovation. These results not only provide valuable insights for managers in the fields of new product development and innovation, they also highlight the need for further research on the dynamic interplay of competitive and cooperative elements within firms.     

Rethinking incrementalism

This paper discusses different notions of incremental strategic management and, on the basis of empirical data from a longitudinal study of strategic management, and existing research and theory, reconceives the subject within an ‘organization action’ framework. The paper also argues that such an approach raises important issues concerned with the management of strategic change in organizations.     

Rethinking shipments asymmetries

A modification of a well-known shipments test for geographic market definition may be useful in identifying antitrust markets. By recognizing the possible significance of a high LIFO value and a notably lower LOFI value, and searching for possible barriers to product entry that could explain the asymmetry, analysts can reduce the chances of adopting an overly broad geographic market. This is illustrated by comparing the results from applying the shipments test to those from residual demand estimations, and by reviewing the evidence and findings in several recent antitrust proceedings in light of the asymmetric shipments patterns they report.     

Strategic enablers of service-sales ambidexterity: A preliminary framework and research agenda

In recent years, service-sales ambidexterity was proposed as a new type of ambidexterity. In particular, the emerging literature on service-sales ambidexterity builds on the contextual ambidexterity literature to argue that the two key activities of a salesperson – that is, service activities and sales activities – can be simultaneously maximized through finding and exploiting synergies between these two activities. While research in this area has so far focused on the drivers of service-sales ambidexterity, our knowledge regarding the strategic enablers of this construct is impoverished. In this paper, drawing upon the dynamic capabilities framework, we devise a preliminary framework of the strategic enablers of service-sales ambidexterity. Then, we further extend that framework by identifying key classes of strategic variables that can potentially enable service-sales ambidexterity and by providing illustrative examples. This paper has contributions to and implications for the literature on service-sales ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities.     

Knowledge exchange and knowledge protection in interorganizational learning: The ambidexterity perspective

Are knowledge exchange and knowledge protection conflicting or complementary? Although facilitating knowledge exchange and protecting core proprietary knowledge are important in interorganizational learning, extant studies often regard them as conflicting activities. Few studies have discussed the mechanisms that can help firms achieve both. In this current study, we extend the concept of ambidexterity to the interorganizational learning context and suggest several mechanisms that can enhance knowledge exchange and knowledge protection simultaneously. We conducted a survey and the empirical results reveal that experience sharing and shared interpretation are positively associated with knowledge exchange success. Hostage arrangement enhances the level of knowledge protection, whereas reciprocal investment has no effect on knowledge protection. Furthermore, ambidexterity (the product term of knowledge exchange success and knowledge protection) significantly affects the performance of a firm. Finally, we discuss the implications of this research and offer suggestions for future research.     

A contextual model of negotiation orientation

Much of the previous research on buyer-seller negotiations has demonstrated that the styles and approaches taken by individual negotiators can impact the buyer and seller satisfaction levels as well the profit levels of the organizations that they represent. In demonstrating these effects, however, researchers have characterized these negotiation approaches in a variety of ways. This research proposes negotiation orientation (NO) as a contextually determined motivational construct that underlies behavior in negotiations. NO is defined and linked to several antecedents and consequences drawn from the negotiation and sales literature in a theoretically sound nomological network. The proposed model reduces conceptual confusion and overlap in the literature while suggesting a number of interesting directions for future research.     

Do bridging ties complement strong ties? An empirical examination of alliance ambidexterity

This study examines the underexplored tensions and complementarities between bridging ties and strong ties in innovation-seeking alliances. Bridging ties span structural holes to provide innovation potential but lack integration capacity, and strong ties provide integration capacity but lack innovation potential. We theoretically develop the idea that—notwithstanding their tensions—strong ties complement bridging ties in enhancing alliance ambidexterity at the project level. While bridging ties provide access to diverse, structural hole-spanning perspectives and capabilities, strong ties help integrate them to realize an innovation. We also propose that their effects and complementarities influence alliance ambidexterity because they facilitate knowledge integration at the project level. Tests using data on 42 innovation-seeking project alliances involving a major American services conglomerate and its alliance partners support the majority of the proposed ideas. Implications for interfirm network configuration, strategic alliances, and the broader strategy literature are also discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

"企业本位论"反思

“企业本位论”对我国体制改革做出了巨大贡献。但企业不是真正的权利主体,而是许多权利主体通过契约关系组成的复杂结构。必须进一步明晰投资者、经营者、管理者、劳动者的个体权利,理清企业内部权利关系,才能建立起高效运行的企业治理机制和经济运行机制。“企业本位论”应转化为“个体本位论”,从着重处理国家与企业关系转为重点处理国家与个人关系,把产权界定、人权保障作为社会主义经济的“制度性基础设施”。     

Rethinking the American farm problem

The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Meeting of the American Agricultural Economics Association, Iowa University, IA, 4–7 August 1985     

对中国石油供应安全的再思考

20世纪80年代以来,在一部分人们的心目中,石油已从战略性资源和“武器”回归到一般商品的属性。应该承认,产油国与消费国之间的关系正在向以互相依赖为共识的合作方向发展,但是发生大规模石油供应中断并带来重大经济损失的可能性仍然存在。因此,我们对石油安全问题必须坚持“两点论”,丝毫不能麻痹大意。近两年我国的石油消费呈现高达两位数的增长,面对这种不可持续的发展模式,运用经济杠杆和市场机制,抑制油气消费,节约和合理使用油气资源已刻不容缓。为此,文章从大力节油、加强国内油气资源勘探、开展石油资源的国际化经营、保障运输通道安全、燃料替代和石油储备方面评述了我国的石油安全对策。     

Spectrum management reform: Rethinking practices

Unparalleled growth in wireless communications has increased the pressure for more spectrum to support more users, more uses and more capacity. To alleviate that pressure, major regulatory changes were introduced in several countries in two key areas of spectrum management, namely spectrum assignment and allocation. This paper analyzes those changes and discusses strategies and tactics for deregulating the use of radio spectrum. Spectrum management reforms are considered within the theoretical framework of transition economics, which is concerned with optimal reform speed and sequencing. The paper shows how Anglo-Saxon and European countries have been implementing gradual reforms. Meanwhile, Central American reformers have chosen a fast transition from command-and-control regulation to market mechanisms. Transition economics is used to evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of different spectrum reform strategies.     

对区域钢铁产业并购重组的再思考——产业链纵向整合视角

在中国钢铁产业进行大规模横向并购重组、提高产业集中度的背景下,钢铁产业链纵向整合蓄势待发.在微观界定了钢铁企业规模两个内涵的基础上,以规模经济、范围经济、降低交易成本为理论出发点,基于钢铁产业链纵向整合的视角,分析了组建专业化公司的必要性和可行性,即从区域、产业、企业3个层面来讲,组建区域专业化公司是实现规模经济、范围经济及降低交易成本三者的最佳结合点,提出了具体的操作方案与前景展望,从而实现风险汇减、提高钢铁产业整体竞争力.     

对深化国有企业改革的再认识

我国经济体制改革选择了进式改革的道路，实践证明这种选择是正确的和成功的。国有企业已基本转变成社会主义市场经济的微观主体。但是国有企业改革的任务还没有完成，可经说是行百里，半九十。深化国有企业改革需要进一步明确国有企业的定位，收缩国有经济战线，规范现代企业制度，积极稳妥地推进国有股减持，建立对经营者的有效激励与约束机制。     

Structural ambidexterity,transition processes,and integration trade‐offs: a longitudinal study of failed exploration

In order to overcome the exploration–exploitation paradox, structural ambidexterity literature suggests establishing differentiated units for exploitation and exploration with a carefully managed exploration–exploitation interface supporting cross‐fertilization without cross‐contamination. Recent research demonstrates the crucial role of integration mechanisms (i.e. how knowledge exchange between exploratory and exploitative units can be organized) and related transition modes (i.e. how exploratory innovations can ultimately be transferred back into the exploitative structures of core business) to deal with this challenge. However, a systematic account of the diverse tensions, risks, and trade‐offs associated with integration which may ultimately cause exploration failure is missing, so far. This paper presents a longitudinal process study uncovering the anatomy of an unsuccessful exploration of (green) technologies by a medium‐sized entrepreneurial firm. We investigated their transition processes to understand how the managers dynamically configured and reconfigured the exploration–exploitation interface over time. Our theoretical contribution lies in providing a framework of six integration trade‐offs (Exploratory‐complementary linking vs. contamination; Seeking legitimacy early on vs. frustration at discontinuation of innovation; Boundary spanning through job rotation vs. carrying over of old culture; Early vs. premature transfer; Reorganization vs. capability mutation; and Improved access to core business resources vs. resource starvation) linked to three phases in the transition process (before, at, and after transfer). We also highlight mechanism, pulling‐forward, and streamlining‐related failures linked to integration trade‐offs in resource‐constrained contexts. Our implication for R&D and top management is that the use of integration mechanisms for structural ambidexterity bears the risk of cross‐contamination between the exploitative and exploratory structures and are therefore inevitably linked to trade‐offs. To minimize negative side effects and prevent exploration failure, organizations have to consciously select, schedule, operationalize, and manage (re)integration mechanisms along the transition process. Our framework of integration trade‐offs systematically supports managers in their organizational design choices for integration mechanisms in the transition processes.     

Structural and contextual correlates of charged behavior in product development teams

Firms increasingly use cross‐functional teams to develop new products, yet we know little about the processes that make teams excel. Although studies have focused on within‐team processes like cooperation between and integration of individuals from various functional areas, some emerging literature suggests that the processes that make teams excel are richer and more complex than cooperation and integration. In order to capture the processes that lead to excellent market performance of new products, we introduce the concept of charged team behavior, the extent to which cross‐functional product development teams are enthusiastically and jointly driven to develop superior new products. Charged team behavior captures not only the drive, commitment, and joy of team members, but also their collaborative behaviors to achieve an exceptional outcome. We propose and test a series of hypotheses concerning how charged behavior affects new product market performance and how charged behavior is, in turn, influenced by both team structural characteristics (physical proximity, team longevity, and outcome interdependence) and contextual factors (senior management encouragement to take risk, quality orientation, exposure to customer input, extent of competition, and interdepartmental connectedness). It is particularly important to examine the antecedents of charged behavior because there are concerns that some of the team‐related factors generally considered to be useful for teams may not necessarily lead to charged teams. Data from new consumer product development teams is analyzed though structural equation modeling for hypothesis testing. We find evidence that highly charged teams are more likely to develop successful new products. Results also indicate that outcome interdependence, exposure to customer input, extent of competition, and interdepartmental connectedness are positively related to charged behavior. Physical proximity, team longevity, encouragement to take risk, and quality orientation do not improve teams' charged behavior. Data suggests that charged team behavior: 1) fully mediates the effects of outcome interdependence and interdepartmental connectedness on performance, 2) partially mediates the influence of exposure to customer input and the extent of competition on performance, and 3) does not mediate the effects of quality orientation and physical proximity on performance. Our study highlights the importance of creating highly charged product development teams in order to achieve exceptional performance. Further, our results indicate that some of the factors suggested by traditional social psychology research for enhancing team effectiveness (e.g., physical proximity and team longevity) may not necessarily create charged teams. Instead, charged teams need a special arrangement, in which members are accountable to the team and where their evaluations and rewards are also linked to the performance of the team. In addition, although a strong emphasis on quality is considered to be beneficial for new products, as our results indicate, such emphasis cannot create a charged atmosphere. Moreover, our research suggests that if the organization structure does not permit frequent contact between individuals across functional boundaries, the creation of a strongly charged team and development of a successful new product will be hindered.