Tipping the scales: ambidexterity practices on e-HRM projects

Purpose: We examine and conceptualise the ways in which a balance can be achieved between optimising the efficiency and effectiveness of electronic HRM (e-HRM) systems for human resource management (HRM) and enabling innovation to occur during the system implementation. Design/methodology/approach: An intepretive case study of a UK local authority e-HRM system implementation is examined using the notion of ambidexterity as an analytical device. Ambidexterity relates to how an organisation develops the ability to operate efficiently in the now, while at the same time being able to adapt to environmental changes around and ahead of them in order to grow into the future. Findings: As an intra-organisational capability, ambidexterity is found to derive from the simultaneous interplay and balancing of dual capabilities: exploitation and exploration.. E-HRM exploitation concerned the capability to generate new knowledge with innovatory effects, created through the everyday practices performed by practitioners at all levels in the organisation. E-HRM exploration, rather than being a purposeful act, was found to be an accidental consequence of engaging in exploitation to maintain the status quo. Originality/value: There is a lack of detailed investigation of how organisations actually achieve ambidexterity, particularly in three under-researched areas: ambidexterity in the public sector, at HR functional level and e-HRM systems implementation. Bundling these three areas into an integrated examination allows us to both identify how exploitation and exploration play out in the ambidextrous practices of an e-HRM project and also to identify the dimensions of ambidexterity in balancing e-HRM work

Linking Ambidextrous Learning with Organizational Performance: Critical Review of Literature and a Research Agenda

Modern organizations are confronted with the dilemma of ensuring effectiveness and efficiency in management of current operations while at the same time adapting to the dynamics of business environment for future viability. Achieving a balance in this paradigm requires organizations to be ambidextrous. Research on ambidexterity is inconclusive with studies giving divergent and even contradictory results particularly on the configuration and conceptualization of the dimensions of ambidextrous learning and their effect on organizational performance. This paper, therefore, makes a critical review of literature on the linkage between ambidextrous learning and organizational performance and proposes a conceptual framework and research methodology for future research. Keywords: Ambidextrous learning, employee ambidexterity, exploitative learning, exploratory learning, innovative work behaviour, environmental dynamism, organizational performance

Role overload, knowledge acquisition and job satisfaction: an ambidexterity perspective on boundary-spanning activities of IT employees

Building upon the ambidexterity perspective, this study conceptualizes boundary-spanning activities as both transactional and learning to illuminate their different effects on IT employees’ job satisfaction. Specifically, we offer an overarching theoretical framework rooted in ambidexterity by connecting the role theory and knowledge acquisition perspective to reconcile the inconsistency of extant findings. Role overload has a mediating effect on the relationship between boundary-spanning activities (both transactional and learning) and job satisfaction, whereas knowledge acquisition mediates the relationship between learning boundary-spanning activities and job satisfaction. Furthermore, high achievement motivation and learning goal orientation moderate the positive effect of learning boundary-spanning activities on job satisfaction. The quantitative analysis of IT employees in Chinese state-owned enterprises largely supports our hypotheses. We conclude this paper by discussing theoretical and managerial implications for ambidexterity, boundary spanning, and job satisfaction

Gestión sostenible de los recursos humanos y el desempeño organizacional: un marco teórico integrador para futuras investigaciones

[ENG] This paper identifies and analyses six relevant approaches for the analysis of Sustainable Human Resource Management and Organizational Performance: Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities View, Knowledge-Based View, Behavioral Theory, Human Relations Theory, and Cooperative Systems and Ambidextrous Organizations. They are complementarity approaches. They can all be applied to the analysis of a specific resource or capability for sustainable human resource management (HRM) and, consequently, organisational performance. However, the contributions made by the Resource-Based View and the new approach of Ambidextrous Organizations seem to be the most comprehensive approaches for studying sustainable HRM from an internal perspective of firms that allows the long-term development of their organizational and society performance. [SPA] Este documento identifica y analiza seis enfoques relevantes para el análisis de la gestión sostenible de los recursos humanos y el desempeño organizacional: visión basada en recursos y capacidades, visión de capacidades dinámicas, visión basada en el conocimiento, teoría del comportamiento, teoría de las relaciones humanas y sistemas cooperativos y organizaciones ambidiestras. Son enfoques complementarios. Todos pueden aplicarse al análisis de un recurso o capacidad específicos para la gestión sostenible de los recursos humanos y, en consecuencia, el desempeño organizacional. Sin embargo, los aportes de la visión basada en recursos y capacidades y el nuevo enfoque de Organizaciones Ambidiestras parecen ser los enfoques más integrales para estudiar la gestión sostenible desde una perspectiva interna de las empresas que permite el desarrollo a largo plazo de su desempeño organizacional y social.The authors are grateful for the support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Funder Identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004837). Project PID2019-107546GA-I00 –AEI/FEDER, UE

Hybrid Strategy and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of Individual and Technological Ambidexterity

It is discussed whether hybrid strategies are beneficial or detrimental to a firm’s performance, because hybrid strategies lead to organizational tensions that arise from the simultaneous pursuit of distinct strategic activities. However, existing studies on the relationship between hybrid strategy and firm performance have largely neglected the role of the organizational architecture. This study tests the hypothesis that an ambidextrous organizational architecture positively moderates the relationship between a hybrid strategy and firm performance. Particularly, the roles of specific organization structures and HRM practices (individual ambidexterity) and information and communication technologies (technological ambidexterity) are assessed. Further, a hybrid strategy’s performance impact is defined in two distinct ways and measured relative to three different comparison groups, that is, the entire sample, no-emphasis strategies, and pure strategies. A novel multi-source dataset on German and Polish manufacturing firms is constructed from three independent sources, including a dataset on objective firm performance indicators. Evidence is found that a hybrid strategy positively impacts firm performance in the presence of organizational ambidexterity, but negatively impacts firm performance in the absence of organizational ambidexterity. These findings are robust across two types of organizational ambidexterity, three different comparison groups, and further robustness tests.exploration; exploitation; ambidexterity; hybrid strategy; organizational architecture; firm performance

Technological capabilities, resilience capabilities and organizational effectiveness

© 2016, © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Previous research has defined resilience as a desirable characteristic for an organization and its members to possess when circumstances adversely change. Resilience is analysed through different perspectives as organizational responses to external threats, organizational reliability or employee strengths. However, the role of resilience in enhancing organizational effectiveness is not fully understood. Grounded in organizational ambidexterity, the current research tests the value of resilience capabilities developed through specific Human Resource Practices (HRPs) in the context of ever-changing market conditions. This paper argues that as well as technological capabilities, HRPs that build resilience within an organization are needed to successfully implement technological change. Resilience capabilities are a mediating factor between technological capabilities and organizational effectiveness, whilst environment dynamism and competitive intensity are moderators of this relationship. Using a primary sample of 205 manufacturing firms, a model is presented and tested using Structural Equation Modelling. The results reinforce the importance of HRPs in building resilience which helps firms to continuously adjust to change and subsequently enhance their organizational effectiveness

ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP AND MARKET TURBULENCE IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE EFFECT OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY ON INNOVATION AMBIDEXTERITY

The primary objective of this research is to examine the impact of absorptive capacity on innovation ambidexterity. Additionally, this study seeks to investigate the moderating effects of entrepreneurial leadership and market turbulence on the relationship between absorptive capacity and innovation ambidexterity. The research employed a survey methodology, wherein the participants consisted of leaders, specifically founders or key managers, from a total of 265 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across diverse industries in the region of East Java. The research model was constructed utilizing the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach, and the association between variables was examined employing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings of this study demonstrate the significance of absorptive capacity in enhancing innovation ambidexterity strategies. Furthermore, it is imperative to acknowledge that the pivotal factor that enhances the connection between the aforementioned entities lies in the involvement of entrepreneurial leaders. The impact of a company's dynamic capability to effectively manage external knowledge on its innovation ambidexterity strategy is further heightened in situations where the external environmental conditions are characterized by uncertainty. To the best of our knowledge, there is limited existing research that has comprehensively investigated the relationship among absorptive capacity, innovation ambidexterity, entrepreneurial leadership, and market turbulence within a single research model. The findings of this study provide a comprehensive description of the innovation process phenomenon observed in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, it has been observed that the involvement of company executives significantly influences the level of intensity with which the innovation strategy is implemented. Moreover, the unpredictability of the company's environmental circumstances may influence the company's ability to effectively absorb and leverage innovation ambidexterity

Who does what in enabling ambidexterity? Individual Actions and HRM practices

In this paper, we explain how ambidexterity, the simultaneous pursuit of exploration and exploitation, is enabled at the individual level of analysis. Research on ambidexterity has been dominated by theoretical approaches focusing on the organisational level; however, we know little about how ambidexterity is enacted by employees. There is also limited work on the multilevel aspects of individual employee actions, for example, particular roles and specifically the level of seniority of the role. We address these gaps by asking: Which individual actions are undertaken by employees at particular levels of seniority in the organization to enable ambidexterity? In order to answer this question we draw on previous research to construct reliable measures of the individual actions that enable ambidexterity. The hypothesized mediation effect of these individual actions is confirmed on the basis of survey data from 212 employees from a UK-based Professional Service Firm. The findings indicate that senior employees are more likely to use ‘integration’, ‘role expansion’ and ‘tone setting’, whilst employees with specialist knowledge about their clients use ‘gap filling’ to enable ambidexterity. Finally, we draw together these findings with 35 interviews conducted to present the HRM practices which support ambidexterity

The Role of Human Resource and Organizational Factors in Ambidexterity

Ambidexterity is a growing field of management research. However, the role of human resources (HR) and organizational factors needs further exploration because of the fragmented nature of prior work and the subsequent lack of a unifying framework. Our review of 41 empirical studies identifies distinct research streams that relate to the effects of employee characteristics, leader characteristics, organizational structure, culture, social relationships, and organizational environment on ambidexterity. We discuss the most important findings within each stream, which contributes to the HR and ambidexterity literature by addressing the current state of our knowledge. To move forward research in this area, we identify important, yet underexplored areas in each stream. This contributes to the literature by highlighting specific gaps in our current knowledge that represent new avenues for future research. We also identify important interrelationships between different streams that need further clarification. We summarize our findings into an integrative model that elucidates the role of HR and organizational factors in ambidexterity. This contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of ambidexterity from the HR and organizational perspectives