MAST: Mental Ambidexterity in Strategic Thinking

There are two fundamental ways to think about what strategy is. The first one is strategy as a plan of action for reaching one or several goals. The second one is strategy as discipline, a formalized body of knowledge. The latter can be understood as the set of governing ideas that guide managers in the identification of opportunities for value creation and the realization of that value. In the present article, we argue that these ideas tend to fall into two main paradigms, which come with two metaphors about managers: managers as commanders and managers as designers. We further argue that these represent two fundamental ways of thinking, which in turn become ways of ‘seeing’ and even feeling. Is one better than the other? We suggest that is not the right question to ask. Rather it is important to appreciate that these are worldviews that affect how we interpret our day-to-day reality and our ability to see opportunities. We introduce the notion of Mental Ambidexterity in Strategic Thinking (MAST) and define it as the ability to hold both views of the world—that of the commander and that of the designer— and play with them simultaneously, rather than focusing solely on one and rejecting the other. MAST is an individual level capability; it is a flexible, non-ideological and fluid mode of cognition. At the core, it is characterized by switching flexibility back and forth between rational decisionmaking among alternatives, and creation of new alternatives, between what is and what could be. We illustrate three principles – i) intellectual humility, ii) contingent thinking and iii) poke into ambiguity – that act as catalysts for individuals to develop MAST capabilities

A Core/Periphery Perspective on Individual Creative Performance: Social Networks and Cinematic Achievements in the Hollywood Film Industry

The paper advances a relational perspective to studying creativity at the individual level. Building on social network theory and techniques, we examine the role of social networks in shaping individuals’ ability to generate a creative outcome. More specifically, we argue that individuals who occupy an intermediate position between the core and the periphery of their social system are in a favorable position to achieve creative results. In addition, the benefits accrued through an individual’s intermediate core/periphery position can also be observed at the team level, when the same individual works in a team whose members come from both ends of the core/periphery continuum. We situate the analysis and test our hypotheses within the context of the Hollywood motion picture industry, which we trace over the period 1992–2003. The theoretical implications of the results are discussed

Magnetic Phase Control in Monolayer Films by Substrate Tuning

We propose to tailor exchange interactions in magnetic monolayer films by tuning the adjacent non-magnetic substrate. As an example, we demonstrate a ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase transition for one monolayer Fe on a Ta(x)W(1-x)(001) surface as a function of the Ta concentration. At the critical Ta concentration, the nearest-neighbor exchange interaction is small and the magnetic phase space is dramatically broadened. Complex magnetic order such as spin-spirals, multiple-Q, or even disordered local moment states can occur, offering the possibility to store information in terms of ferromagnetic dots in an otherwise zero-magnetization state matrix.Comment: after minor changes, 5 pages, 5 figures, revtex

Performance gains and losses from network centrality in cluster located firms: a longitudinal study

This paper develops and tests theoretically derived arguments on the performance trade-offs that arise when firms located inside geographical clusters broaden their cluster networks and increase their centrality. Using three-year longitudinal data gathered on a sample of 89 small media firms located in a geographical cluster of Northern Italy, we model growth in revenues and in employees as a function of their centrality in different types of networks. We find an inverted U-shaped effect of centrality across all types of networks. We also find strong evidence of negative interactivity between network types in predicting sales and employee growth. This result not only concurs with the view that centrality brings tangible and intangible benefits, but also provides empirical support for the contention that centrality fosters dispositions and disturbances that undermine performance

The social and economic bases of network multiplexity: Exploring the emergence of multiplex ties

The goal of this article is to shed light on the role of tie content in the evolution of multiplex ties – i.e., ties featuring both an economic and a social component – in interorganizational networks. The authors clarify and extend the theoretical framework on network multiplexity by testing the extent to which two distinct tie content-related logics – social interaction and economic exchange – and their underlying mechanisms lead to the emergence of multiplex ties. Results from a longitudinal network analysis of firms located in an Italian multimedia cluster support the authors’ hypotheses, confirming that both social and economic drivers contribute to the emergence of network multiplexity, and that social ties have a stronger impact than economic ties on this process, thus providing further insight into the microdynamics of network evolution

Continuity and change in a spin-off venture: the process of reimprinting

Because new entrants very often spin off from established firms, their learning and capabilities are closely linked to their organizational and technological heritage. While this may provide an initial advantage, parental influence can generate inertia and resistance to change, unless the new company is able to unlearn inappropriate practices and create its unique competitive identity. The tension between inheritance and search for novelty is the subject of the article. Building on an in-depth case study of Acorn Computers and ARM semiconductors, we present a model of intergenerational learning and spin-off performance. Early parental influence is followed by intense learning, improvisation and response to feedback from the market. This we term reimprinting, to emphasize the enduring competitive and organizational identity established early on by the spin-off, which in this case provided the basis for disruptive innovation. Focus on the parent–progeny dyad as the unit of analysis can reveal micro-processes that reconstitute past experience to make possible both continuity and innovation in the spin-off ventur

Estudo do banco de sementes em fragmentos de Floresta Estacional Semidecidual Aluvial e Submontana na Região Centro-Oeste do Estado do Paraná.

Organizado por Patricia Póvoa de Mattos, Celso Garcia Auer, Rejane Stumpf Sberze, Katia Regina Pichelli e Paulo César Botosso