Organizational ambidexterity: using project portfolio management to support project-level ambidexterity

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the ability of project portfolio management practices to support the pursuit of ambidexterity at the project level through engagement with specific dimensions and mechanisms. The focus is on examining the operating/business model and challenges that are imposed on the firms, but deemed resolvable through the simultaneous pursuit of multiple projects emphasising contradictory strategic goals. Data are obtained from multiple exploratory interviews of senior executives involved in project-level activities who were drawn from twelve case organisations in the Middle East. The study finds evidence of four forms of ambidexterity dimensions and mechanisms. Analysis undertaken against operating/business model and challenges of these dimensions and mechanisms of ambidexterity suggests that they are not only interrelated , but do so at various organisational levels.

Managing strategic resources in petroleum industry projects

“…We do so taking cognizance of the associated tensions flowing from resource heterogeneity. Drawing from Petro et al (2019Petro et al ( , 2020, we opine that while the main decisions on strategic resources are made at the strategic or institutional level, due to the susceptibility of core organizational rigidities at this level (as a result of process rigidities), it is at the 'project' level' and not the 'strategic level' and/or 'institutional level' that the accrued benefits from resources are realized. Projects incorporate strategic resources that can provide the umbrella organization a unique position and, accordingly, sustain a competitive advantage over its competitors.…”

“…At the lowest level of this hierarchy is the 'individual level'. Drawing from the literature (Petro et al 2019(Petro et al , 2020, from a resource perspective, this level is particularly concerned with the decisions of specific practitioners/managers. More specifically, the 'individual level' is interested in how specific actors are able to acquire, mobilize, organize, integrate, develop, rearrange, manage and deploy the entire spectrum of an organizations assets, competencies and capabilities in a manner that is able to ensure project performance and cope with changes in the business and competitive environment in a manner that ensures competitive advantage.…”

“…It is at this level that strategy is orchestrated (Chipulu et al 2016;Kopmann et al 2017;Maylor et al 2018;Midler, Maniak, and de Campigneulles 2019) and value created by organizations (Parvan, Rahmandad, and Haghani 2015). Projects are the ideal means of delivering strategies in that they are the primary conduit for acquiring, integrating, developing, re-arranging and deploying the entire spectrum of an organizations assets, competencies and capabilities (Narayanan andDeFillippi 2012, Turner andLee-Kelley 2013;Turner, Maylor, and Swart 2015;Petro et al 2019Petro et al , 2020. The relationship between the 'project level' and the 'strategic level' is best articulated by Longman and Mullins (2004) who state that ' … any strategy session that is worth its salt ultimately distils vision [statements] into critical business issues, and if the organization is really serious, these issues get distilled into projects' (54).…”

Seven Decades of Project Portfolio Management Research (1950–2019) and Perspectives for the Future

“…As theories on how to improve adaptability and agility begin to be established (Niederman et al, 2018), scholars theorize on how to integrate and balance this adaptability according to existing organizational structures and demands. Thus far, only a few contributions have theorized on this issue, such as the theory on ambidexterity (Eriksson, 2013; Midler et al, 2019; Petro, 2019). Hoffmann et al (2020) suggest using activity theory to cope with the tension between the demand for being adaptable yet efficient and aligning with strategy.…”

How purchasing departments facilitate organizational ambidexterity

“…These conflicting demands challenge organisations to take on an integrative role in reconciling and mediating conflicting demands upon suppliers (Aoki and Wilhelm 2017). Organizational ambidexterity is increasingly used in studies of production planning and control (Petro et al 2020). However, purchasing's role in mobilizing the supply network to support organizational ambidexterity (OA) is unclear and has not received sufficient attention in the literature on procurement and supply management (Kauppila 2010;Aoki and Wilhelm 2017;Gualandris, Legenvre, and Kahlschmidt 2018).…”