Building Multiunit Ambidextrous Organizations—A Transformative Framework

• Published date: 01 December 2015
• Author: Alkis Thrassou,Dorra Yahiaoui,Hela Chebbi,Demetris Vrontis
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21662
• Date: 01 December 2015

Human Resource Management, December 2015, Vol. 54, No. S1. Pp. S155–S177

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI:10.1002/hrm.21662

Correspondence to: Alkis Thrassou, Professor of Marketing, University of Nicosia (Cyprus, EU),

46 Makedonitissas Ave., P.O. Box 24005, 1700 Nicosia, Cyprus, Phone: +357 99 582 751, Fax: +357 22 357 481,

E-mail: thrassou.a@unic.ac.cy

BUILDING MULTIUNIT

AMBIDEXTROUS ORGANIZATIONS—

A TRANSFORMATIVE FRAMEWORK

HELA CHEBBI, DORRA YAHIAOUI, DEMETRIS VRONTIS,

AND ALKIS THRASSOU

A pragmatic “holy grail” of organizational aspirations, ambidexterity is increas-

ingly gaining the attention of executives and scholars alike, presenting them with

a frame of thought and a functional strategic attitude that befi ts the perplex-

ing nature of contemporary business contexts. Aiming to cover one of the most

noticeable gaps in knowledge on the subject, this exploratory research studies

the evolutionary process of a divisional multi-business-unit organization to an

ambidextrous one. We thus identify the determinants of a successful evolution

and propose an executive-oriented comprehensive model towards divisionalized

ambidexterity. In this context, we answer critical questions relating to the rela-

tive weight of innovation within multiunit business ambidexterity, the requisite

means and aims of the structural and contextual determinants of success, and the

role of top management. We conclude that there is a strategic need for balance

between internal and external congruence; and that multiunit integration must

be such as to achieve an internal solidifi cation of systems and processes, as well

as external adaptability and market fl exibility; all within an incessantly changing

and unpredictable business environment. The value of the research to human

resource management knowledge lies in its focus on multiunit business ambi-

dextrous evolution; and in its consequential scientifi cally founded practical eluci-

dations of executive worth. Equally importantly, though, the fi ndings transcend

theoretical constrictions to provide an in-context business perspective through a

comprehensive system that considers also strategic and environmental realities.

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals,Inc.

Keywords: ambidexterity, human resource management, evolution, multiunit,

structure, context, division, telecommunications

S156 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, DECEMBER 2015

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

Applied to the

organizational

field, a company

is considered

ambidextrous when

it is able to exploit its

current capabilities

while simultaneously

exploring

fundamentally new

competencies and

ideas.

In this framework, this research studies the

evolutionary process from a traditional (as defined

here) to an ambidextrous multi-business-unit

organization (MBUO), identifying along the way

the determinants of success, to ultimately pro-

pose an executive-oriented comprehensive model

toward divisionalized ambidexterity. The research

answers critical questions relating to the weight

of innovation in MBUO ambidexterity, the req-

uisite means and aims of the structural and con-

textual determinants of success, the role of top

management, and the strategic need for balance

between internal and external congruence in an

incessantly changing and unpredictable business

environment.

Methodologically, the research is exploratory,

and it starts with an extensive theoretical analy-

sis that shapes a hybrid framework of potential

factors of successful ambidextrous evolution, to

develop also four propositions. Subsequently, it

combines the findings of a years-long case study

analysis (OPERACOM Telecommunications) with

qualitative and secondary data research to draw

scientifically based practical lessons on divisional

ambidextrous development. The findings are fur-

ther analyzed through a supplementary theoretical

and empirical research to finally define and refine

five-plus-one sets of determinants, to develop a

provisional generic model, and to understand the

managerial implications of the research.

These findings show that MBUOs hold dif-

ferent prerequisites in their evolutionary process

toward ambidexterity, primarily as a result of com-

plexities inherent to their very nature. Also found

is an evident marketing orientation underlying all

changes, necessitated by external conditions and

impinging on practically every aspect of internal

management. Moreover, the research concluded

that the key to successful MBUO evolution rests

on the balance between internal factor harmony

(organizational congruence) and external factor

harmony (environmental congruence). What we

term balancing management, therefore, arises as the

ultimate trait of transformational leadership; with

the top management’s role carrying disproportion-

ate weight throughout the transformative process.

The value of the research lies in its focus on

multiunit business ambidextrous evolution, with

findings that transcend theoretical constrictions

to provide an in-context business perspective that

considers also strategic and environmental reali-

ties. More specifically, a comprehensive organi-

zational outlook is retained, which incorporates

and interrelates the internal with the external

environments, in the human resource manage-

ment context, to instigate a necessary shift in the

direction of research in this field of knowledge

More than a fashionable term—like

the many we have come across over

the years in corporate lexicons—

organizational ambidexterity presents

executives and scholars alike with

a frame of thought and a functional strategic

attitude that befits the perplexing nature of con-

temporary business contexts. A pragmatic “holy

grail” of organizational aspirations, ambidexterity

is increasingly gaining the attention of managers

and academics, and though much has been said

on the subject, much remains to be tested and

even more remains to be uncovered. Stemming

from the Latin terms ambi (both) and dexter (skill-

fulness or agility) (Chermack, Bodwell, & Glick,

2010), ambidexterity’s sanguine disposition is

by nature a tall order for the executive practice.

Applied to the organizational field, a company is

considered ambidextrous when it is

able to exploit its current capabilities

while simultaneously exploring fun-

damentally new competencies and

ideas (Levinthal & March, 1993).

This characteristic is absent in what

we term, in this research’s context,

“traditional” firms, which focus

primarily on exploitative activi-

ties (O’Reilly, Harreld, & Tushman,

2009) with little attention to creativ-

ity. Aware of this difference, tradi-

tional companies are increasingly

following a vacillation approach

between exploration and exploita-

tion to enhance their performance

(Boumgarden, Nickerson, & Zenger,

2012).

One of the most noticeable

gaps in knowledge on the subject

is consequent to the explicit and

implicit overfocus on single-busi-

ness organizations. While these

organizations are undeniably important, they

are not representative of all (especially larger)

organizations, which have long been found to

be limited in their attribute potentialities, such

as their innovative capacity (Mintzberg, 1989).

In fact, multidivisional firms are characterized

by what Fernhaber and Patel (2012) term the

product portfolio complexity. These firms, owing

to their extensive variety of products, units,

and customers, pay more attention to exploit-

ative activities than explorative ones. Rising

costs, differing demands, and environmental

changes, however, increasingly call for ambi-

dexterity as a strategic imperative that needs to

be based on specific structural and contextual

mechanisms.