Organizational ambidexterity and firm performance: Burning research questions for marketing scholars

Organizational ambidexterity is an important topic in management research having grown meteorically over the past 17 years. Yet, very few studies in marketing examine organizational ambidexterity. Where studies do exist, seldom do they do justice to its theoretical richness and complexity. This complexity is a significant hurdle for scholars and managers alike, but theory and practice on organizational ambidexterity can benefit substantively from the input of scholars outside the realm of management. This paper provides scholars and managers with a detailed analyses, documentary and corpus of reference material documenting the development, definition, theoretical assumptions and conceptual treatment, measurement and empirical findings to do with organizational ambidexterity. Drawing on this detailed analysis, the paper identifies the burning research questions marketing scholars should give urgent attention to advance theory and practice on organizational ambidexterity. Summary statement of contribution: This paper provides readers with detailed analyses and documentary of the development, definition, theoretical and conceptual treatment, measurement and empirical findings to do with organizational ambidexterity. It identifies the fundamental elements and key assumptions of organizational ambidexterity and reveals implications of conflicts among these elements and assumptions. The paper identifies the burning research questions in need of urgent attention to advance theory and practice

Developing dynamic transformation capabilities in high velocity environment: A study of industrial internet companies

Developing dynamic transformation capabilities in high velocity environment: A study of industrial internet companie

Absorptive capacity and market orientation in public service provision

The application of market orientation to public organisations does not adequately account for the unique features of this context. Drawing on absorptive capacity literature, this is the first study to examine the role of the organisation's learning environment on the market orientation-performance interface for two opposing public management contexts. The research involved a national survey questionnaire to 1060 internal and external public leisure service providers in England. Empirical testing through structural equation modelling revealed that not all dimensions of market orientation are universally positive and marketing scholars should seek to examine and understand market orientation in the context of the organisation and its learning mechanisms, as absorptive capacity has clear and different moderation effects under different management contexts. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Post-acquisitions structures in cross-border M&As: An innovation-based perspective

Post-acquisitions structures in cross-border M&As: An innovation-based perspectiv

Re-examining the deployment of market orientation in the public leisure sector

This paper examines the moderating effects of market orientation's intelligence generation and dissemination components on the response-performance relationship. We offer valuable insight into the application of, and subsequent returns to, market orientation in the public leisure sector, thereby helping to broaden the appeal, relevance, and usefulness of this important marketing theory to other contexts. The research involved a national survey questionnaire to 1060 public leisure managers of local government leisure facilities in England. Empirical testing through structural equation modelling revealed two important findings. First, intelligence generation efforts of the organisation can in part affect the performance returns to an organisation from its responsiveness to market intelligence. Second, intelligence generation coupled with organisation-wide dissemination of intelligence can have a destructive impact on the response-performance relationship, demonstrated by a negative significant moderating impact on this relationship. This paper provides an alternative explanation to the deployment of market orientation as a means to create value and an explanation that transcends its current linear portrayal in public-service delivery. © 2012 Copyright 2012 Westburn Publishers Ltd

When family social capital is too much of a good thing

Family social capital (FSC) is theoretically predicted to benefit family firm performance, but empirical results repeatedly disappoint this expectation. To bridge the disconnect between theory and empirical evidence, we conceptualize FSC as a multidimensional construct in which its dimensions exhibit a mix of positive and negative consequences resulting in a ‘too much of a good thing’ effect. At high levels, the structural dimension of FSC can cause the family firm to form a structured group and become trapped in its established networks, preventing new knowledge from entering the family firm. With a hand-collected dataset, we test a curvilinear relationship between the structural dimension of FSC and family firm financial performance, and linear effects from its relational and cognitive dimensions. We further examine whether possessing organizational social capital (OSC) mitigates the negative consequences of high FSC. We reveal that the form and combination of FSC matters more than its amount. We contribute to theory a co-dependent view of FSC and OSC (as two different social capitals) that appreciates their concurrent effects

Theoretical assumptions about family firm radical innovation

A growing body of research is concerned with radical innovation activities among family firms. During the last decade, the study of family firms and radical innovation has diffused into various research streams driven primarily by aspects of governance. The aim of this paper is to reconcile our understanding of current research findings about radical innovation and family firms by employing a structured literature review technique. After analyzing 39 articles from a cluster of top-ranked journals, we see that investigation of radical innovation and family firms are mainly located under the theoretical lenses of (1) resources, (2) agency theory, (3) behavioral agency theory and socioemotional wealth, and (4) drivers of the ability and willingness to innovate. By viewing radical innovation through these four lenses, we observe that radical innovation activities could be influenced by the level of family involvement in ownership and management, the family capability bundle (resources, knowledge, and experience), and family oriented goals. These matters are potentially inter-related because differences in ways family firms acquire resources, their susceptibility to various institutional factors, levels of ownership and control, and the presence of different family-oriented goals can alter the intentions, motivations, and ability to engage in radical innovation. We present urgent directions for future research, highlighting what key problems and gaps need urgent attention to advance our understanding of radical innovation in family firms

The nature and manifestation of identity tension in England’s National Health Service

This paper critically examines identity tension in the National Health Service (NHS) and the associated consequences of inauthenticity, lack of credibility, and low self-efficacy. Data from 60 interviews with staff from a large acute care hospital (hereafter, Large East Midlands Trust (LEMT)) within England’s NHS was collected. Analysis revealed that inauthenticity, lack of credibility, and lower perceived self-efficacy are components of identity tension that staff experience as they face the bidirectional pressure exerted on their professional and NHS identities by the demand to engage in entrepreneurial activities. This research is the first to tease out the specific aspects of identity tension that individuals experience in their multiple social identities in response to change in their organisational context. In doing so we contribute to the conference sub-theme: identity and change- how ‘who we are’ influences how we drive or cope with the unexpected

Climbing the value chain: strategies to create a new product development capability in mature SMEs

PURPOSE. Increasing productivity gaps and declining manufacturing bases create complex challenges for mature small to medium enterprises (SMEs). One solution advocated by academia is to reposition along the value chain – moving to a position of greater value. The purpose of this paper is to examine strategies used by firms to reposition through creating a new product development (NPD) capability. In doing so, the paper seeks to resolve gaps in extant literature on NPD in mature SMEs. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH. An exploratory approach is taken, analysing in‐depth case studies of three mature UK manufacturing SMEs. FINDINGS. Four strategic approaches to enable the creation of a NPD capability (strategic alliances, licensing key technologies and ideas, outsourcing and deploying an internal development process) are found. Each may facilitate an SME to reposition but the findings highlight that these strategies are not mutually exclusive as different combinations were employed to accelerate and leverage change. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS. Limited number of case studies constrains wider understanding despite providing richness. The findings highlight four different strategies for repositioning but there may be other routes. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS. Deeper understanding of how to climb the value chain, providing valuable lessons for mature SMEs facing a need to reposition to generate new growth opportunities. ORIGINALITY/VALUE. The paper provides an understanding of how mature manufacturers utilise different strategies to overcome resource constraints and generate a NPD capability to assist in repositioning. This resolves weaknesses in current literature that so far have not adequately examined the process of shaping a NPD capability and the strategies used to reposition