Background. Organizational ambidexterity is listed among up-to-date concepts recommended for managers to cope with turbulence and multidimensionality of the business environment. The idea of combining both evolutionary and revolutionary organizational changes seems to be very attractive but challenging to implement. Although it has been widely discussed in the management-related literature for more than twenty years, it has not been explored thoroughly and it still remains an interesting topic for further research. Research aims. The aim of the paper is to analyze the literature contribution to the development of the ambidextrous organization concept as well as to identify the key problems and trends in research output. The research process is oriented to responding to the following questions: (1) What are the key contributions of the literature in the field to the development of the concept? (2) What are the key research topics and trends in the field? Methodology. Systematic literature survey is the applied methodology. The Scopus database is used as a source for the sampling process. Key findings. The analysis points out the following main areas of research interest in the field: (1) ambidexterity and ambidextrous organization conceptualization, (2) organizational management context (including managers) where these assumptions are embedded and studied, (3) innovations, organizational learning processes and creativity, and (4) strategic management aspects.
PurposeTogether with increasing ambiguity and frequency of changes, management becomes full of seemingly conflicting choices, i.e. paradoxes, coming up in the process of decision-making. Successful management of paradoxes, i.e. treating them as “both/and” constructs leads to innovative solutions and better overall organizational performance. In response to a significant research gap regarding antecedents of managing paradoxes, the aim of the paper is to investigate how individual characteristics of strategic decision-makers, specifically their age, tenure and educational background, affect the ability to combine contradictions in their strategic choices.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was conducted among 201 managers representing furniture companies in Poland. The CATI technique with an interview questionnaire was adopted in order to identify respondents' opinions on the main features, traits and dimensions of the strategy implemented in their companies. Participants' tenure, age and education were measured by single items.FindingsThe study suggests that the ability to manage paradoxes increases with age and tenure in a company and at a current position. At the same time economic/business educational background appears to be unsupportive in this regard.Originality/valueWhile the issue of managing paradoxes energizes researchers in various disciplines, we still do not know much about antecedents of the process. The study shed light on effects that managers' demographics have on their ability of managing paradoxes. It contributes to the theory on strategic paradoxes as well as theory on the influence of decision-makers' individual characteristics on their decisions.
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