Alexander Zimmermann
Title
Prof. Dr.
Last Name
Zimmermann
First name
Alexander
Email
alexander.zimmermann@unisg.ch
ORCID
Phone
+41 71 224 2025
3 results
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Item type:Publication, From Differentiation to Reconciliation : How Compensatory Structuring Reunites Exploration and Exploitation in SMEsPrior studies assume that organizational structuring should align the dimensions of centralization, formalization, and specialization, resulting in exploratory organic structures, or exploitative mechanistic structures. Accordingly, researchers argue that exploration and exploitation need to be pursued in distinct organizational domains. Alternatively, we suggest that compensatory structuring (the ability to combine structural characteristics that fosters different strategic orientations) may allow reconciling the two activities' conflicting demands within a single organizational domain. Based on a study of 184 SMEs, we find a positive effect of compensatory structuring on ambidexterity, which is mediated by the behavioral context. We contribute to ambidexterity theory by discussing the insight that structuring may not only be used to differentiate, but also to reconcile exploration and exploitation.Type:conference paper - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Leading to Ambidexterity : The Direct and Indirect Effects of Behavioral Complexity in SMEs and Business UnitsPrior studies argue that behaviorally complex managers may contribute to an organizational unit's ambidexterity. While some suggest that such managers reconcile exploration and exploitation directly, others propose that they foster both activities indirectly by framing an ambidextrous behavioral context. We hypothesize that these direct and indirect processes are not independent alternatives, but are interrelated. Based on two samples, we find that SMEs' managers affect unit-level ambidexterity directly and indirectly, while those of larger corporations' business units only have an indirect effect. Our study extends and reconciles the literature on managerial and contextual ambidexterity, as well as that on individual-level and unit-level ambidexterity. The insight that the effectiveness of different paths to ambidexterity may depend on the type of organization under study, is further discussed.Type:conference paper - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, A Revised Blueprint of the Ambidextrous Organization : Reuniting Structural and Contextual TheoriesOrganizational ambidexterity research has remained divided into two disparate streams. While structural ambidexterity scholars argue that exploitation-exploration tensions can be reconciled by creating separate structural contexts for exploration, contextual ambidexterity research suggests establishing behavioral contexts that allow pursuing both activities within the mainstream organization. In this paper, we argue that both structural and behavioral dimensions define organizational contexts and that it is the interplay between the two that leads to organizational outcomes such as exploitative and explorative processes. Based on a Qualitative Comparative Analysis of 15 work units in three ambidextrous firms, we provide a set-theoretic model of how structural and behavioral context elements are combined to organizational context configurations that enable exploitation, exploration, or both. Based on these findings, we integrate prior theorizing from structural and contextual ambidexterity scholars to establish a revised blueprint of the ambidextrous organization.Type:conference paperVolume:Paper 1646