PurposeWhilst capabilities in exploiting existing assets and simultaneously exploring new opportunities have proven essential in today's organisations, an understanding of how these so-called ambidextrous capabilities are deployed remains elusive. Thus, the authors aim to investigate the role of better management practices (BMP), as organisational routines, in deploying ambidextrous capabilities in practice.Design/methodology/approachHigh-variety, low-volume (HVLV) manufacturers are adopted as exemplar ambidextrous organisations. A conceptual model was developed where BMP, including human resource management (HRM) and production planning and control (PPC), are considered as mediators in the relationship between ambidextrous capabilities and organisational performance outcomes. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was adopted to analyse the results of a survey undertaken by Australian HVLV manufacturers.FindingsThe results suggest that merely holding ambidextrous capabilities is not enough – demonstrating a fully mediating role of BMP between ambidextrous capabilities and HVLV manufacturer performance outcomes. However, the individual effects of PPC and HRM prove varied in their unique impact on HVLV manufacturer performance.Practical implicationsThis study also provides a rare account of how HVLV manufacturers can leverage their inherently ambidextrous design towards greater organisational performance and highlights critical considerations in the selection of organisational capabilities.Originality/valueBy exemplifying the explanatory power of BMP in ambidextrous capability deployment, this study moves beyond the more prevalent stance on the links between BMP and ambidextrous capabilities as that of capability building through management practices, to one concerning the deployment of the capability itself.
This paper examines how an organisational learning culture impacts organisational agility by developing a model based on dynamic capabilities. The model treats agility as a dynamic capability and explains how an organisational learning culture (OLC) triggers a chain reaction through its influence on organisational agility (OA) that ultimately results in company growth. This paper also investigates the role of big data capabilities in transferring learning outcomes into dynamic capabilities. The model is tested through data collected from a survey of 138 Australian companies. Partial least squares structural equation modeling is adopted to empirically demonstrate how agility fully mediates the impact of the learning culture on growth. In addition, this paper further sheds light on the moderating role of big data competencies on the effects of OLC on OA. After presenting the results with implications to theory and practice, the paper ends with suggestions for future studies.
Innovation and change are fundamental to the long-term sustainability of any organisation. Whilst it is important to improve operating efficiency in the bid to become more cost competitive, there is still an underlying need to venture out of the norm and explore new opportunities. Though a great deal of research has emerged regarding the achievement of ambidexterity, there remains a gap in understanding how this is actually operationalised in organisations. This paper takes aim at this problem in the context of SME manufacturers that produce a high variety of customised products at low volumes (HVLV). Under such circumstances, ambidexterity appears intuitively easier to achieve given the manufacturer is designed to be as flexible as possible in the first place-though, it would seem this may be to their detriment. Based on a literature review and drawing from ambidexterity and organisational theory, our contribution is geared towards investigating the underlying mechanisms that make HVLV manufacturers ambidextrous in the first place. In particular, we concern ourselves with exploring how ambidexterity is enacted through what are deemed "better" management practices that result in innovative organisations. By better understanding the more latent characteristics of HVLV manufacturers, we shed some light on the interactions between external and internal influences affecting the impact of ambidexterity under such an environment. Further theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
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