Editor, Executive and Entrepreneur

Abstract

To survive in today's increasingly complex business environments, firms must embrace strategic paradoxes: contradictory yet interrelated objectives that persist over time. This can be one of toughest of all leadership challenges, as managers must accept inconsistency and contradictions. In this article, we develop and empirically test a set of hypotheses related to ambidexterity, a key example of a paradoxical strategy. Through our analysis of data from a survey of executive leaders, we find a link between organizational ambidexterity and strategic planning, suggesting that the complexities of navigating in explorative ventures require more explicit strategy work than the old certainties of a legacy business. We identify and discuss inherent paradoxes and their implications for firm performance in 22 industry-specific strategies, where empirical industry data shows a pattern of conflict between explorative growth strategies and exploitative profit strategies. We argue that this is just one of the inherent paradoxes in the ambidexterity construct.

Multinational Enterprises, Sustainability and Innovation

“…However, the size of the firm is not an omniscient factor that always results in having the ability to better implement ambidexterity. According to Lillegraven et al (2016) [84], firm size does not affect strategic planning and/or being ambidextrous. Larger established firms are also frequently slower to respond to opportunity than SMEs because their entrepreneurship ability deteriorates over time as their internal structures become increasingly laden with rules, procedures, and systems [5].…”

Managerial Dilemmas and Entrepreneurial Challenges in the Ambidexterity of SMEs: A Systematic Review for Execution System

“…There were four operational factors influencing the performance of SMEs found in the synthesis of the literature: preparation, human resources, resources, and structure. Preparation was defined as readiness for change, goal setting, behavioral integration of the top management team, and a combination of exploitation and exploration that enabled SMEs to improve their firm's performance [5,21,79,84,91]. In addition to preparation, human resources are also emphasized as being a fundamental factor for performance in SMEs [54,77,92].…”

“…However, the size of the firm is not an omniscient factor that always results in having the ability to better implement ambidexterity. According to Lillegraven et al (2016) [84], firm size does not affect strategic planning and/or being ambidextrous. Larger established firms are also frequently slower to respond to opportunity than SMEs because their entrepreneurship ability deteriorates over time as their internal structures become increasingly laden with rules, procedures, and systems [5].…”

Redaktører i omstilling: Faktorer som påvirkeret høyt jobbengasjement

“…Det nyere begrepet ambideksteritet betyr å kunne jobbe med flere til dels motstridende forhold samtidig. En studie av ambideksteritet i media viser at det er en konflikt mellom utforskende vekst og et lønnsomhetsfokus (Bøe-Lillegraven & Wilberg, 2016). Dette kommer blant annet fram i synspunkter på hva som hemmer eller fremmer vekst i utnyttelse (exploiting) eller utforskning (exploring) i litteraturen (O Reilly & Tushman, 2004;Tushman & O'Reilly Iii, 1996).…”