Choosing to Learn and Learning to Choose: Strategies for Client Co-Production and Knowledge Development

Skjølsvik, Tale; Løwendahl, Bente R.; Kvålshaugen, Ragnhild; Fosstenløkken, Siw M.

doi:10.2307/41166397

Cited by 75 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Yet, we still have much to learn about other external sources of ambidexterity, foremost among them client relationships. Initial studies highlight clients as sources of knowledge (Im and Rai, 2008), but tell us little about how knowledge is attained and used within and across client relationships to enable ambidexterity over time.The literature on knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs), by contrast, has developed some understanding of how firms can use client relationships for their own knowledge development (Bettencourt et al, 2002;Fosstenløkken et al, 2003;Skjolsvik et al 2007). 1 Such KIFs critically rely on their ability to create, preserve and replenish a stock of valuable knowledge that they apply in their knowledge-based services (Alvesson, 1995;Moore and Birkinshaw, 1998;Starbuck, 1992;Von Nordenflycht, 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Client Portfolios as Sources of Ambidexterity: Exploration and Exploitation Within and Across Client Relationships

Bednarek¹,

Burke²,

Jarzabkowski³

et al. 2016

Long Range Planning

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This paper explains how dynamic client portfolios can be a source of ambidexterity (i.e. exploration and exploitation) for knowledge intensive firms (KIFs). Drawing from a unique qualitative dataset of firms in the global reinsurance market, we show how different types of client relationships underpin a dynamic client portfolio and become a source of ambidexterity for a KIF. We develop a process model to show how KIFs attain knowledge by segmenting their client portfolios, use that knowledge to explore and exploit within and across their client relationships, and dynamically adjust their client portfolios over time. Our study contributes to the literature on external sources of ambidexterity and dynamic management of client knowledge within KIFs.Keywords: Ambidexterity, client relationship management; knowledge intensive firms, strategic business relationship, exploration and exploitation Accepted for publication at Long Range Planning 2 IntroductionSince March's (1991) seminal work, the concept of organizational ambidexterity -the concurrent pursuit of exploitation, "the development of things already known", and exploration, the development of new knowledge (Levinthal and March, 1993, p. 105;Lavie et al., 2010) -has captured the imagination of organizational scholars. Ambidexterity is considered critical for organizational success and yet also extremely difficult to achieve within a single organization (Andriopoulos and Lewis, 2010;He and Wong, 2004;Raisch and Birkinshaw, 2008). In response to this recognized difficulty in achieving ambidexterity internally, interest in the role of external relationships in enabling ambidexterity has recently burgeoned, primarily with a focus on strategic alliances (e.g. Koza and Lewin, 1998;Lavie and Rosenkopf, 2006;Raisch and Birkinshaw, 2008;Rothaermel and Deeds, 2004). Yet, we still have much to learn about other external sources of ambidexterity, foremost among them client relationships. Initial studies highlight clients as sources of knowledge (Im and Rai, 2008), but tell us little about how knowledge is attained and used within and across client relationships to enable ambidexterity over time.The literature on knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs), by contrast, has developed some understanding of how firms can use client relationships for their own knowledge development (Bettencourt et al., 2002;Fosstenløkken et al., 2003;Skjolsvik et al. 2007). 1 Such KIFs critically rely on their ability to create, preserve and replenish a stock of valuable knowledge that they apply in their knowledge-based services (Alvesson, 1995;Moore and Birkinshaw, 1998;Starbuck, 1992;Von Nordenflycht, 2010). KIFs thus offer a useful context in which to study the potential of client relationships to fuel exploration and exploitation. Client knowledge can be a source of both exploration and exploitation within KIFs (He and Wong, 2005;Levinthal and March, 1993;Lavie et al., 2010); either refining existing knowledge, such as improving an existing solution, or 1 To maintain the authenticity of our data we ...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Client Portfolios as Sources of Ambidexterity: Exploration and Exploitation Within and Across Client Relationships

Bednarek¹,

Burke²,

Jarzabkowski³

et al. 2016

Long Range Planning

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“…A third implication is at the level of project choice. In knowledge intensive fi rms, the choice of projects is critical as choosing the wrong projects may lead to failure, which in turn may impact fi rm reputation ( Skjolsvik et al , 2007 ). Managers have to ensure that they can successfully complete all projects they take on, not only due to issues relating to the current quarter ' s earnings, but also due to long-term issues relating to reputation management.…”

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Reputation as a Driver in Activity Level Analysis: Reputation and Competitive Advantage in Knowledge Intensive Firms

Sheehan

Stabell

2010

Corp Reputation Rev

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“…In these organizations, value is created through project-based work. Thus, projects are important for developing new products, services and for innovation (Anand et al, 2007;Brock, 2012;Løwendahl et al, 2001;Skjølsvik et al, 2007). Projects are also important for coordinating production tasks (Bettencourt, Ostrom, Brown, & Roundtree, 2002).…”

Section: Capability Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, we argue that it is the projects that bridge what the organization already knows with what the organization attempts to become (Tsoukas & Chia, 2002). In many firms, it is also the projects that bridge what the organization would like to learn from the past into the future (Anand et al, 2007;Løwendah et al , 2001;Skjølsvik et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lasting temporariness: Projects as capability bridges across time and organizational levels

Breunig

Söderlund

Kvålshaugen

2015

AMPROC

Self Cite

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This study reveals how learning and experiences accumulated in temporary projects contribute to capability development and change of strategic orientation in project-based organizations. We argue that capability development in project-based organizations must rest upon an understanding of projects as "capability bridges", thus contrasting extant literature's common treatise of the temporariness inherent in project-based organizing. This paper presents an analytical framework that identifies how capabilities develop over time and across levels in specific contexts. The empirical data is derived from a longitudinal case study of capability development in an international project-based professional service firm. The case study demonstrates how projects function as bridges connecting both past, present and future, and individual-, project and-organization levels, thus illustrating the temporality of capabilities, on the one hand, and the multi-level features of capabilities, on the other hand. Thus, this study shows how knowledge and experiences accumulated from past and current projects influence the formation of future capabilities and strategies. Simultaneously, anticipations of the future influence current activities and the utilization of past project experiences. This leads to an improved understanding of how capabilities are developed across organizational levels and time.

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Choosing to Learn and Learning to Choose: Strategies for Client Co-Production and Knowledge Development

Cited by 75 publications

References 18 publications

Dynamic Client Portfolios as Sources of Ambidexterity: Exploration and Exploitation Within and Across Client Relationships

Dynamic Client Portfolios as Sources of Ambidexterity: Exploration and Exploitation Within and Across Client Relationships

Reputation as a Driver in Activity Level Analysis: Reputation and Competitive Advantage in Knowledge Intensive Firms

Lasting temporariness: Projects as capability bridges across time and organizational levels

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