Explaining the effect of context and organizational architecture on the development of individual ambidexterity in knowledge-based companies

پژوهش نامه مدیریت تحول

Article 1, Volume 13, Spring & summer 2021 - Serial Number 25, September 2021, Pages 1-22   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/tmj.2021.30393.0

Authors

roya shakeri^{* 1}; Hossein Rahmanseresht²; Soran Mowlaie³; mehdi abdolmaleki⁴

¹Faculty of Humanities, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran

²Professor of Organization Theories and Strategic Management, Faculty of Management, Allame Tabataba'ee University, Tehran, Iran

³Ph.D. Student in Business Management, Head of Recruitment & Staffing Department, Oil Industries Commissioning and Operation Company, Tehran, Iran

⁴Lecturer, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Kurdistan University, Sanandaj, Iran

Abstract

1- INTRODUCTION
The organizations of the present century are complex and are integrated systems consisting of processes, organizational units, people, information, and supporting technologies, as well as dependencies and connections between different elements. recognizing, engineering, and managing these social, technical, and infrastructural dimensions is critical to achieving and maintaining the efficiency of organizations. in recent years, the rapid and continuous course of events has gradually transformed the boundaries and dynamics of the business environment, and all institutions are increasingly confronted with new, unexpected, and far-reaching challenges. in dynamic markets, companies need to constantly explore new opportunities in addition to exploiting existing resources. therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of organizational ambivalence stimuli and drivers on individual ambivalent behaviors in order to fully benefit from the benefits and advantages of ambivalent for an organization. the present study has been conducted to address this research gap.
2-THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Previous research in the field of organizational ambiguity has emphasized the importance of organizational architecture, including 1 establishing separate task units focused on exploration or utilization, 2) integrating mechanisms that facilitate knowledge flows and coordination between units. this spatial and physical separation in different organizational units seeks to avoid friction between conflicting demands and interests between exploration and exploitation activities. the orientation of business units is towards exploration (for example, research and development unit) or exploitation and profitability (for example, production unit). the orientation of units should be aligned to reach organizational synergy. in addition to work ethic and discipline, individuals need access to sufficient resources to engage in exploration and exploitation activities. employees should have enough freedom to acquire the resources they want to advance their innovative actions across the organizational hierarchy. if such resources are provided, more exploration and for-profit activities will be possible. trust is another prerequisite for knowledge sharing and, as a result, knowledge flows are highly dependent on trust among all participants in the knowledge transfer debate. knowledge renewal and overflows from other people are of the main antecedents of exploration and exploitation activities.
3- METHODOLOGY
This study is a descriptive cross-sectional survey. and in regard to the application of the results, it is among the applied research. the statistical population of the study includes all 303 senior managers and experts of active knowledge-based companies located in sanandaj science and technology park. given the population size, the sample size was calculated and applied according to cochran's formula equal to 170. after distributing 181 questionnaires by simple random sampling method, 170 questionnaires were returned with a response rate of 94%.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
In accordance with hypothesis 1, research results indicated that organizational architecture reinforces the use of individual dual power in knowledge-based organizations. therefore, it can be said that organizational architecture is capable of stimulating exploratory and for-profit behaviors. by integrating exploration and for-profit units, organizations perform both activities simultaneously and balance them within their borders through the active integration of senior management teams. the results of testing the second hypothesis indicated that the organizational context accelerates the use of individual duality in knowledge-based organizations. accordingly, it can be said that the organizational context can create a culture that everyone is trying to grow the other and help the development of the organization by influencing each other. these companies encourage employees to take creative action and cultivate a variety of perspectives that ultimately lead to larger perceptual mindsets and the achievement of original ideas.
 
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Selecting the appropriate architectural framework has a significant impact on organizational productivity. a number of researchers have argued that sustainable organizational performance is dependent on exploiting existing capabilities and discovering new opportunities (i.e., dual power) in environmental dynamics and change. dualism is a concept that has been studied for years from the perspective of various fields including strategic management, organizational behavior, marketing, etc. however, overcoming ambiguity is not easy, as the explorative and for-profit behaviors often compete with each other. to cope with this situation, several organizational solutions have been proposed such as innovative culture. when managers create an innovative culture in their organizations, they must analyze the current state of exploitation and exploration activities, create a strategic profile of both, and identify their innovation goals. in fact, they have to consider their organization's future approach choose the right profile for exploitation and exploration to achieve their innovation goals.

Keywords

Organizational Context; Organizational Architecture; Individual Ambidexterity; Knowledge-based Firms

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