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Pure structures or ambidextrous configurations? A grounded theory of knowledge-focused organizational design in innovative ventures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Virginia Bodolica Open the ORCID record for Virginia Bodolica [Opens in a new window]  and
Martin Spraggon
Virginia Bodolica*
Affiliation:
The Said T. Khoury Chair of Leadership Studies, School of Business Administration, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Martin Spraggon
Affiliation:
Dean of School of Business and Quality Management, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU), Dubai, United Arab Emirates
*
*Corresponding author. Virginia Bodolica, E-mail: virginia.bodolica@hec.ca
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Abstract

Extant literature remains inconclusive with regard to optimal structural designs for sustaining effective knowledge flows, boosting innovativeness, and achieving superior performance in organizations. We contribute to the ongoing debate on formal, informal, and ambidextrous configurations in the specific context of small high-tech innovators. Adopting an inductive approach to theory building, we explore the factors that account for the variation in knowledge-focused designs across sample firms. In our study, innovative ventures rely on pure formal and informal organizational designs but also attempt to mix both, suggesting that gains from ambidexterity are not ubiquitous. Our analysis unveils that the pursuit of a given structural configuration results from a set of operating contingencies and a deliberate managerial effort to align firm idiosyncrasies with desired strategic outcomes. We advance a grounded theory of knowledge-focused organizational design in small high-tech innovators and formulate propositions that may be tested in future inquiries in the field.

Keywords

Ambidexterityconfigurationfit or alignmentformal–informal structureinnovationknowledge managementorganizational design
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , July 2021 , pp. 626 - 649
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2020

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Footnotes

†

Both authors contributed equally and authors are listed in alphabetical order.

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