Ambidextrous Organizational Culture,Contextual Ambidexterity and New Product Innovation: A Comparative Study of UK and Chinese High‐tech Firms

Contextual ambidexterity is of paramount importance for new product innovation and organizational success, particularly in high‐tech firms operating in a dynamic environment. Whilst it is recognized that contextual ambidexterity is grounded in organizational culture, existing research has not crystallized what kind of organizational culture enables contextual ambidexterity and consequently new product innovation. In this paper, drawing on data from 150 UK and 242 Chinese high‐tech firms, we conceptualize ambidextrous organizational culture as a higher‐order construct consisting of organizational diversity and shared vision, and examine its impacts on contextual ambidexterity and consequently on new product innovation outcomes. Using structural equation modelling, we find significant relationships between ambidextrous organizational culture, contextual ambidexterity and new product innovation outcomes; contextual ambidexterity mediates the relationship between ambidextrous organizational culture and new product innovation outcomes. Our findings also suggest that the above relationships are robust in the UK–China comparative research context, and that contextual ambidexterity and new product innovation outcomes are dependent on business unit level heterogeneity (i.e. ambidextrous organizational culture and research and development strength) rather than industry or cross‐cultural differences.     

On the etiology of conflict cultures

Conflict has long been conceived as a fundamental part of all organizational systems. Yet the literature on conflict is largely divorced from its organizational roots and instead focuses on general processes of conflict management at the individual and small group levels of analysis. To re-establish the organizational basis of conflict, we develop a macro-theory of conflict cultures, or shared norms that specify how conflict should be managed in organizational settings. We propose a typology of conflict cultures that draws upon two dimensions – active versus passive conflict management norms and agreeable versus disagreeable conflict management norms – and discuss the etiology of four distinct conflict cultures: dominating conflict cultures (active and disagreeable), collaborative conflict cultures (active and agreeable), avoidant conflict cultures (passive and agreeable), and passive–aggressive conflict cultures (passive and disagreeable). We discuss top-down processes (e.g., leadership, organizational structure and rewards, industry, community, and societal factors) and bottom-up processes (e.g., personality, demographics, values and social networks) through which these conflict cultures develop. We explore both positive and negative organizational outcomes associated with each conflict culture, as well as moderators of proposed effects. We conclude with theoretical, practical, and empirical implications of a conflict culture perspective.     

战略聚焦视角下的文化特性与新产品创造力研究

 基于竞争价值框架和战略理论,在新产品开发过程中,企业文化特性与战略聚焦因素的有效适应或协同对新产品创造力有积极的影响作用。企业文化特性是指一组企业成员所共享的价值观、规范、信仰和群体性认知,能够影响并塑造组织成员的认知、动机和能力,因而在新产品研发阶段对企业产生新想法和解决创造性问题的能力均有重要影响。目前相关研究已开始探讨员工所处的企业文化环境对其新颖而有用想法的产生能力(即创造力)的影响。但鲜有研究在企业层面分析企业文化特性与企业战略的交互对新产品创造力的作用机理。        从竞争价值框架和战略聚焦视角出发,深入分析企业不同文化特性与新产品创造力之间的作用关系,建立基于战略聚焦视角的文化特性-创造力匹配模型,并实证检验新产品开发过程中两类企业文化特性对新产品创造力的影响以及战略聚焦变量在这一过程中的调节机理。为了揭示企业文化特性影响新产品创造力的作用机理,在直接检验柔性导向文化和控制导向文化与新产品创造力关系的基础上,深入分析并检验组织内外部战略聚焦变量(长期导向和企业家导向）对上述关系的调节作用。        以209家中国企业为研究对象进行实证研究,结果表明柔性导向文化和控制导向文化均正向促进新产品创造力;企业家导向正向调节柔性导向文化和控制导向文化与新产品创造力之间的关系;而长期导向对柔性导向文化和控制导向文化与新产品创造力之间关系的调节作用是非线性、倒U形的,即在新产品开发过程中,中等强度的长期导向对企业两种类型文化与新产品创造力的促进作用最强。        研究结论为探讨企业文化特性的激励效能提供了新的理论视角,并对企业在新产品开发过程中的战略聚焦规划和创造力管理有重要的实践指导意义。     

基于知识结构的顾客知识共享激励机制研究

文章从知识结构的视角构建了基于委托——代理理论的顾客知识共享激励机制模型,创新性地分析了在信息对称和信息不对称情况下,共享知识中显性知识和隐性知识比例的变化对顾客知识共享努力水平及收益分配系数的影响,并运用MATLAB软件对该模型进行了仿真分析。研究结果表明（1）顾客的努力水平与共享知识的组成结构有关,且当显性知识和隐性知识比例均为0.5时努力水平达到最大值;（2）当知识组成结构相同时,信息不对称情况下的努力水平低于信息对称情况下的努力水平;（3）收益分配系数与共享知识的组成结构有关,且当隐性知识比例为1时收益分配系数达到最大值;（4）收益共享比例与风险规避程度成反比。基于此,提出了企业应制定基于共享知识结构的顾客知识共享评价机制和利益分配机制,并根据顾客的风险规避程度对收益分配系数进行调整,为企业知识共享激励机制的制定与实施提供了理论指导。     

Stakeholder Actions and Their Impact on the Organizational Cultures of Two Tobacco Companies

We link the behaviors of executives and lawyers in two tobacco companies, in defending their tobacco products to the actions of stakeholders (e.g., the U.S. Government and Congress, medical researchers, consumers, public‐health organizations, tobacco‐control advocates, and insiders who have spoken out). Included in our analysis, which is based on publicly available documents spanning over a period of almost six decades, are critical incidents in which moral disengagement tactics were applied in the decision‐making process. We infer that the disengagement tactics applied by tobacco decision makers are indicative of what Schein and other organizational scientists describe as organizational culture. We equate the critical incidents to the espoused beliefs and values and underlying assumptions which comprise organizational culture and explain that the cultures of these two tobacco companies are not consistent with the stakeholder theory of management. We conclude that the critical incidents we analyze were immoral and the representatives were indeed accountable for these behaviors. From an organizational change perspective, we discuss how analyzing these critical incidents can serve to assess the extent to which an organizational culture is ethical. Furthermore, these critical incidents can be fed back to organizational decision makers and can then be used to initiate organizational changes.     

研发团队共享领导力行为的产生和对创新绩效的作用：基于垂直领导力的影响

 共享领导力是提高多元性、知识型的组织绩效的有效方式，但已有对研发组织领导力理论的研究大都侧重于垂直领导力对创新的影响，对共享领导力关注不足，而共享领导力作为一种随着团队发展而动态形成的领导力类型，已被证明是提高多元性、知识型组织绩效的有效方式；目前将共享领导力作为整体概念的研究思路能从宏观视角把握其作用机制，但不足以从微观层面揭示共享领导力的动态性的产生和作用。        基于领导力行为理论，从7个行为维度对共享领导力和垂直领导力进行解构，考虑垂直领导力的影响，从微观层面研究共享领导力的产生及对创新绩效的作用。运用访谈和参与性观察对4个研发团队进行全生命周期数据收集，通过多案例研究方法和规范的质性分析技术探究共享领导力行为在团队不同发展阶段的形成过程，以及垂直领导力行为对该形成过程的影响。区分创新绩效中的过程绩效、产品绩效和学习绩效，进一步揭示共享领导力和垂直领导力在促进不同创新绩效过程中发挥的不同作用。        研究结果表明，共享领导力不同行为的产生既直接依赖于垂直领导力，又通过依存环境间接依赖于垂直领导力；共享领导力的不同行为并非一次性形成，而是分别产生于团队生命周期的不同阶段，即在团队构建期首先形成跨边界领导行为，在成员磨合期形成激励行为和关怀行为，在规范执行期形成授权行为和变革领导行为；共享领导力行为的这种动态性决定了其直接作用于团队创新的学习绩效和产品绩效，对过程绩效没有直接作用，而垂直领导力行为则对过程绩效具有直接促进作用，并通过共享领导力间接作用于学习绩效。        在理论层面，从共享领导力行为角度分析其产生和作用，从微观层面挖掘其动态特性，解释了共享领导力和垂直领导力在促进创新绩效过程中的替代和互补关系，从而完善共享领导力的动态概念理论，也为后续的动态研究提供新思路。在实践层面，为研发团队管理中依据团队不同阶段和不同类型的创新绩效需求发展不同的共享领导力行为提供理论支持。     

Closing the Loop: An Empirical Analysis of the Dynamic Decisions Affecting Product Variety

Product variety decisions have become a key issue in managing new product development and innovation. The marketing literature highlights how product variety influences consumer demand. The operations and supply chain management literature discusses the impact of product variety on production and operational costs. However, very little has been found about how these past performance outcomes may influence present variety decisions. We consider product variety and performance outcomes in a dynamic decision loop by testing the forward impacts of product variety on demand and cost, as well as the reverse influences of past performance on present product variety decisions. Using archival data from the distribution network of a U.S.‐based soft drink bottler, we develop a balanced panel dataset of 3,666 observations over three years containing product variety, cost, and demand data. Our results suggest that both past demand and past cost outcomes may influence present variety decisions, with the demand impact occurring more rapidly than the impact of cost. Moreover, we investigate curvilinear impacts of product variety on the performance measures and find that product variety influences both demand and cost performance at diminishing marginal rates. From a theoretical perspective, our study better models the interplay between product variety and performance outcomes, while from a professional perspective, we help supply chain managers to better plan for the outcomes of their product variety decisions.     

The Impact of Organizational Culture on Time‐Based Manufacturing and Performance

Firms are utilizing an array of manufacturing practices in their quest for survival and success in the marketplace. The implementation of those practices has not always resulted in success stories as the focus had been mostly on technical issues, with little concern for “soft issues.” For example, the enabling role of organizational culture has often been ignored. Using Schein's conceptualization of culture as underlying assumptions, espoused values, and artifacts, we examine a framework that relates culture and manufacturing practices to performance. The underlying assumption of customer orientation is posited to affect espoused values such as beliefs on investing in facilities and equipment to leverage intellectual work and to promote creativity, beliefs on working with others, beliefs on making decisions that are global, beliefs on management control, and beliefs on integrating with suppliers. The espoused values are hypothesized to affect visible attributes of culture (behaviors) such as time‐based manufacturing practices, which firms are employing for competitive advantage. A sample of 224 firms is used for developing research instruments and testing the hypothesized relationships advanced. Results indicate that high levels of customer orientation lead to a set of managerial beliefs that are collaborative and integrative. In turn, certain espoused values support a high level of time‐based manufacturing practice, which leads to high performance.     

Revisiting Institutional Voids: Advancing the International Business Literature by Leveraging Social Sciences

Institutions are vital for solving collective action problems and enabling functioning markets. Based on this notion, the institutional voids literature has offered a dynamic research agenda for international business scholarship. In this perspective article, we leverage work from political science, development economics, legal studies, and anthropology to: (a) expose hidden assumptions about institutional voids in the management literature; (b) propose new directions for research based on our revised assumptions; and (c) provide direction-specific theoretical constructs from other social sciences to stimulate theory-building and empirical inquiry into institutional voids. We develop a framework that identifies four revised assumptions about institutional voids research that we derive from current studies and elaborate on eight theoretical constructs from other social sciences that exemplify the revised assumptions and generate future research questions for international business scholars.     

The interactive relationship of corporate culture and knowledge management: a review

Knowledge management and corporate culture are two managerial concepts that are often connected in articles, especially in knowledge management literature. It is, however, a rather complex relationship, as evidenced by the existence of various theoretical and empirical contributions as well as various implicit assumptions. This review therefore, aims at systemizing and clarifying different approaches towards the relationship between intraorganizational knowledge management and corporate culture. I identified three different perspectives on this topic. The first perspective regards cultural values as knowledge resources. The second approach deals with the characteristics of “knowledge cultures” that are regarded as a favorable antecedents for knowledge management. The third view assumes a different causal relationship because knowledge management initiatives can also modify cultural assumptions if employees are subject to positive experiences. This paper describes all three, discusses their underlying assumptions, and shows their implications for theory and practice. By comparing the three perspectives, this systematic review reveals that they are based on different theories and therefore, their results cannot be easily combined. Our conclusions show that being aware of these differences and providing a common theoretical basis opens up avenues for future research in this field.     

知识链视角下开放式创新主体的联盟策略研究

创新联盟是开放式创新的实践基础,选择适宜的合作伙伴缔结创新联盟是组织面对的重要决策问题。本文以组织间知识转移为线索,考虑一个由知识源、知识转化中介与信息服务机构组成的知识链,以知识产权交易为合作机制设计序贯博弈模型,分析了不同的联盟策略对组织的知识创造与创新收益的影响。研究表明:缔结创新联盟能够产生双赢效应,即同时提高联盟内部成员与非联盟成员的知识创造及创新收益;知识链在集中决策时的整体创新收益与知识创造均高于分散决策;由知识源与信息服务机构组建创新联盟是分散决策下知识链的最优联盟策略。研究结论有助于揭示开放式创新的知识转移对组织联盟策略的作用机理。     

Framing the multifaceted nature of design thinking in addressing different innovation purposes

Scholars and practitioners acknowledge the role of design, and specifically design thinking, as a driver of innovation and change. Design thinking is gaining attention in the business community beyond the traditional product innovation realm and is increasingly promoted as an engine for the creation of novel user experiences, new businesses, strategic transformation, organizational and cultural change. Is it reasonable to assume that the same set of practices fits such a broad range of applications equally well? This study addresses how design thinking applications are differently framed when addressing diverse innovation purposes. Specifically, we compare two purposes: innovation of solutions, encompassing traditional product and service development projects, and innovation of direction, encompassing strategic and organizational renewal projects. Based on data collected from 146 design thinking projects conducted by European consulting firms we investigate the relationships between the design thinking practices adopted and the value generated by the projects. We then analyze how these relationships vary depending on the purpose of the innovation project, namely whether focused on innovating solutions or direction. The results show that different purposes indeed call for different practices. In projects aimed at innovating solutions, market value is positively related to capturing current user needs and envisioning future society. Conversely, in projects aimed at innovating direction, market value is positively related to challenging current assumptions.     

组织文化、知识转移与新服务开发绩效:城市商业银行案例

本文是城市商业银行新服务开发的一项比较案例研究。新服务开发活动中,组织文化会影响组织内员工知识转移行为,而员工知识转移行为会影响新服务开发绩效。本文确认了地域性中小金融服务企业情境下它们之间的因果关系,并得到其具体影响方式,构建了一个三者之间相互作用的综合模型。     

Innovation, cultural values, and the management of change in British hospitals

This paper describes the results of a study of innovation in the management teams of 27 UK hospitals. It is argued that the content of innovations provides an accurate representation of the underlying cultural values of the management teams, and the cultural values which they seek to purvey within the wider organizational settings. The authors propose that values in action (as opposed to espoused values) are manifest in the range of innovations introduced by top management within organizations. Using a typology of organizational culture, they categorize the innovations introduced by the management teams, in order to map their underlying cultural values. The results indicate predominant orientations of hospital management teams towards rational goal and hierarchical values in the current context of health care in Britain. Internal climate and service innovations were relatively infrequent, suggesting that the hospitals were dominated by management concern for control rather than flexibility. The costs of such cultural strategies in health service settings are discussed.     

IT驱动的商业模式创新机理与路径研究

从IT驱动的视角剖析了IT成为企业商业模式创新内生力量的作用机理,并提出了IT驱动的商业模式创新路径,最后得出相关商业模式创新的启示。旨在探寻除技术创新、产品创新之外的另一企业升级之路,对我国本土企业在当前全球化和信息化环境中把握机遇、提升创新能力具有借鉴意义。     

Examining the Impact of Pre‐Implementation Expectations on Post‐Implementation Use of Enterprise Systems: A Longitudinal Study

This article builds upon the technology acceptance model and theories of technology sensemaking to explore pre‐enterprise system adoption expectations and post‐enterprise system adoption outcomes in a longitudinal setting. Building on the exploitation and exploration paradigm, we propose that task productivity and task innovation expectations are the key drivers of users’ pre‐adoption enterprise system usage intention. Further, we argue that the enterprise system facilitates generation of a common knowledge base that may encourage a more integrated organizational culture and promote shared understanding among employees. Considering the distinction between mandatory and voluntary contexts, we propose that user acceptance of the enterprise system at the pre‐ and post‐adoption stages will mediate these relationships in a mandatory context. The results show that the influence of pre‐adoption expectations regarding task productivity and task innovation on intention to use an enterprise system is mediated by user acceptance of the enterprise system. Intention to use an enterprise system is positively related to actual use. At the post‐adoption stage, the influence of actual use on shared understanding is mediated by user acceptance of an enterprise system and enterprise system use has a direct negative impact on task efficiency in the initial period after implementation. Overall, the results highlight that user acceptance at both pre‐ and post‐adoption stages are critical factors when usage is mandatory. These findings suggest a number of important implications for research and for managerial action.     

市场导向对组织创造力的非线性作用机理——组织二元结构文化与创业导向的影响研究

在我国加快实施创新驱动发展战略中,如何提升企业组织创造力以促使企业创新变得至关重要。企业战略是影响组织创造力和创新的重要情境因素。市场导向和创业导向是新兴经济体国家的企业发展的战略核心。然而,现有研究对市场导向与企业创造性产出之间关系的观点却不一致。创业导向如何影响市场导向对组织创造力的作用也尚未得到关注和研究。本研究以145家企业的979份高层管理人员与核心员工的套问卷数据为样本,研究发现：市场导向对组织创造力产生倒U型影响,且倒U型影响通过二元结构文化（一致性文化与适应性文化）的不同传导机制而产生,即：一致性文化在市场导向与组织创造力之间正向中介效应随市场导向的增强而减弱,并在高度市场导向时转变为负向中介效应,而适应性文化在市场导向和组织创造力之间发挥部分中介效应。研究还发现：市场导向对组织创造力的倒U型影响受创业导向的调节作用,即：当创业导向较高时,市场导向对组织创造力的积极影响随市场导向的增强而逐渐增强,反之,则逐渐减弱。研究结论为提升企业组织创造力提供新的思路和理论参考。     

技术管理与技术能力匹配对产品创新的内在影响机制

 产品创新是企业获取和保持竞争优势的重要手段。虽然在产品创新过程中技术管理和技术能力都具有重要作用，但是单纯依靠技术管理或技术能力不能维持企业产品创新的持续发展，能使企业获得持续竞争优势的因素还在于技术管理与技术能力之间的匹配效应。        基于匹配理论和知识基础观，分析技术管理-人员能力匹配、技术管理-设备能力匹配、技术管理-信息能力匹配和技术管理-组织能力匹配在产品创新中的作用，识别技术管理与技术能力匹配对产品创新绩效的直接影响和间接影响，构建技术管理与技术能力匹配对产品创新的影响机制模型。采取大样本问卷调查，收集122家装备制造业企业数据，运用多元线性回归分析对提出的假设进行实证检验。        研究结果表明，技术管理-人员能力匹配和技术管理-设备能力匹配都对产品创新绩效产生正向影响，相对于技术管理-设备能力匹配，技术管理-人员能力匹配对产品创新绩效的影响更大。技术管理-信息能力匹配和技术管理-组织能力匹配在技术管理-人员能力匹配和技术管理-设备能力匹配影响产品创新绩效的过程中起正向的调节作用。        研究结果发现了技术管理与技术能力匹配对产品创新的重要影响，为产品创新的理论研究提供了新视角；深化了对产品创新实现路径的理论认识，为技术管理和技术能力如何向产品创新绩效转化的理论研究提供了微观知识基础；识别了发挥技术管理与技术能力匹配作用的内在条件，从权变视角拓展了匹配理论的研究。同时，也为企业正确处理技术管理与技术能力间的关系、提升产品创新绩效提供了理论指导。     

成长品：数据驱动的企业与用户互动创新案例研究

现有产品创新理论聚焦于成品及其迭代,但大数据和人工智能等数字技术为产品形态的根本性变革提供了条件和可能。本文基于一家智能化广告公司的案例,提出一种新的产品形态--"成长品"的概念,主要回答3个问题:什么是成长品?成长品是如何成长的?成长品的创新逻辑是什么?研究获得以下结论:(1)成长品具有发展方向难以预测、即时反馈和即时调整3个主要特性;(2)成长品由要素解构与重组、成长性验证和多样化匹配3个关键过程形成,数据交互和智能算法构成其成长的重要条件;(3)成长品的创新主要基于生物演化的适应逻辑,即随用户需求的偏好差异和动态变化而实时调整,持续适应用户的需求。据此,本文提出一种数字经济时代新的产品形态二分法--成品与成长品,构建数据驱动的企业与用户互动创新的成长品三阶段成长模型,提出与现有企业与用户互动创新的决策逻辑和创生逻辑不同的第三种创新逻辑,即适应逻辑而形成理论创新。研究结论对数字经济时代的企业产品创新实践具有启示价值。