Strategy Making During Ambidexterity Cycles

Broader context. The research stream on organizational ambidexterity has identified possibilities of achieving contradictory goals of exploration and exploitation simultaneously (March, 1991; Raisch & Birkinshaw, 2008; Gibson & Birkinshaw, 2004). Some companies shift between these extremes. This phenomenon is termed cyclical ambidexterity where firms change their strategic orientation between the contrasting aims periodically ((Simsek et.al. (2009), Uotila et al. (2009) Boumgarden et al. (2012)). Research focus. This study focuses on a particular aspect of cyclical ambidexterity. It focuses on strategy making in firms shifting between exploration and exploitation. The aim of the thesis is to analyze what happens within the organizations in the course of these shifts. To observe and explain the inner workings of this change process, the study takes the strategy as practice view (Johnson, Langley, Melin, & Whittington, 2007). Method. Due to its exploratory nature, a focus on contemporary events and lack of control over behavior of actors, this study employs a longitudinal case study method with partial retrospective data collection elements (Yin, 2008). The case organizations were selected based on purposive theoretical sampling (Patton, 2001) and sample variation in crucial categories (Eisenhardt, 1989; George & McKeown, 1985) where one case organization was in a phase of changing its primary strategic orientation from exploration to exploitation, and the other in the opposite direction - from exploitation to exploration. To allow for a comparison of practices, the organizations were selected from a single industry and geographical location. Contribution. This study results in a better understanding of the process of shift in strategic orientation. It therefore informs the ambidexterity literature and the strategy-as-practice literature streams about practices used during ambidexterity cycles. It shows that when engaging in.

Author: Marko Rillo

Publisher: Seriousplaypro

Publication Date: Feb 22, 2016

Number of Pages: NA pages

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

ISBN-10: 9949388708

ISBN-13: 9789949388707