Knowledge management practices by middle managers to attain organizational ambidexterity

Abstract

This study explores how middle managers deal with knowledge inflows whilst striving to achieve ambidexterity. This is enabled through a two-dimensional conceptual framework involving knowledge sources (vertical or horizontal) and acquisition activities (structural and contextual).We based our study upon interviews conducted with 64 managers from hypermarket retailers in China, in addition to field observations and secondary data. Our findings reveal that these middle managers leverage different combinations of structural and contextual mechanisms to govern the vertical (top-down and bottom-up) knowledge inflows within their business units. Structural mechanisms comprise differentiation and integration. For their part, contextual mechanisms consist of a combination of discipline, stretch, support and trust. These combinations also enable horizontal knowledge inflows to be managed from outside the business unit. These also enable middle managers' ambidexterity, first at the business unit level and second at the organization level. Our findings offer managerial guidelines for handling knowledge inflows from various sources and with different patterns. They also assist middle managers with their contribution to their firms' pursuit of organizational ambidexterity.

Antecedents of risk and uncertainty management capabilities: Insights from multinational enterprises in New Zealand

“…Further research with methods such as qualitative comparative analysis could study how antecedents interact and influence the risk and uncertainty management capabilities through various configurations. Further survey research measuring the construct of risk and uncertainty management capabilities could improve our understanding of this concept, for example with respect to reconciling routine reconfiguration between headquarters and subsidiaries (Riviere et al, 2020) or knowledge management practices (Xiong et al, 2021). In closing, we encourage more interaction between organizational capability and IM scholars (Elsahn & Benson-Rea, 2018;Ingršt & Zámborský, 2021).…”

The impacts of middle managers' ambidexterity, continuous improvement, and organizational agility on business performance: A knowledge-based view

“…In addition to their inherent ambidexterity, middle managers need input from both senior managers and staff. In this function, they serve as hubs and apply structural and contextual strategies to effectively manage the resulting ambidexterity (Xiong et al, 2021).…”

“…First, there are sources for knowledge acquisition, which can be vertical (top-down and bottom-up within a business unit) or horizontal (across business units). Knowledge acquisition activities, which reflect management patterns reliant on structural or environmental causes, make up the second component (Xiong et al, 2021). However, the interchange between exploitation and exploration capabilities to respond to the challenges in agility and continuous improvement has not critically been investigated in previous research.…”

“…Ambidextrous middle managers are able to link exploitation and exploration practices (Xiong et al, 2021) and bridge the operations strategy and firm performance. These competencies are valuable in responding to the operations strategy or competitive priority in terms of quality, cost, delivery, and flexibility.…”

“…Middle managers play a vital position in organizational hierarchies and are responsible for implementing senior management strategies by ensuring their subordinate employees carry out their daily responsibilities (Harding, Lee Our data were collected in Indonesia, a developing country with 5% growth annually and the shortage of middle managers is already acute (BCG, 2013). As with other developing countries with limited resources, middle managers in Indonesia are continuously faced with a plethora of tasks, both directly and indirectly related to their roles (Rafique et al, 2018), requiring exploiting and exploring capabilities (Torres et al, 2015;Xiong, Yan, Su., Bonanni & Li, 2021). By 2020, there will be a 40-60 percent imbalance between the demand for middle managers and the supply.…”