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The ambidextrous manager: What role does culture play?

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journal contribution
posted on 2016-06-28, 08:40 authored by Ian HodgkinsonIan Hodgkinson, M.N. Ravishankar, Michelle Aitken-FischerMichelle Aitken-Fischer
Purpose We know from research that the right context can help managers develop an ambidextrous approach. But just as few of us are naturally ambidextrous, many managers fail to balance conformity and change during strategy implementation. We investigate why. Design/methodology/approach Through a qualitative study of managers of an international airline we examine a series of cultural barriers that constrain managers’ agile decision-making and stop managerial ambidexterity. Findings We identify 6 culturally-ingrained practices that block managerial ambidexterity: Top management’s unwavering emphasis on cost-control when survival hinges on fresh investments; Little or no scanning of the environment for new areas of opportunity; Intensive planning oriented toward efficiency issues; Functional structures characterized by extensive division of labor; Centralized control; Formal hierarchical communication channels. Research implications Managers find it difficult to put into practice new initiatives, particularly when the proposed initiatives counter the underlying cultural world of the organization. We suggest that this dark-side of culture can pose tough barriers for ambidextrous action. Practical implications There is an urgent need for organizations to be aware of the possible misalignments between ambidextrous pursuits and the cultural forces that actually drive action. A deep understanding of their organization’s cultural universe is a crucial first step for managers aspiring to better engage with ambidexterity and outwit and outperform competitors. Originality Different strategic approaches need not be viewed as irreconcilable. If cultural elements don’t block it, managerial ambidexterity can showcase innovative approaches to reconciling trade-offs in strategic decision-making.

History

School

  • Business and Economics

Department

  • Business

Published in

Journal of Business Strategy

Citation

HODGKINSON, I.R., RAVISHANKAR, M.N. and AITKEN-FISCHER, M., 2016. The ambidextrous manager: What role does culture play? Journal of Business Strategy, 38 (3), pp. 3-9.

Publisher

© Emerald

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publisher statement

This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Acceptance date

2016-06-16

Publication date

2017-05-15

Notes

This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Journal of Business Strategy and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-03-2016-0030.

ISSN

0275-6668

Language

  • en