Increasing organisational ambidexterity: The role of entrepreneurs’ leadership styles and individual resilience

PurposeThis study aims to understand the impact of leadership styles on the sustainability of organizational energy, using the mediator role of organizational ambidexterity in family firms in Malaysia. To this end, dual-stage Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) were adopted to determine the leadership style of family firms in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory design (i.e. questionnaire) was used to collect data from 528 workers in the family firms in Malaysia.FindingsAccording to the results, leadership styles and long-term organizational energy have a positive and significant relationship. Furthermore, organizational ambidexterity mediates the relationship between leadership styles and organizational energy sustainability. On the other hand, based on nonlinear and compensatory relationships, the ANN method predicted a bureaucratic leadership style typical in Malaysian family businesses. The results of this study indicate transformational, transactional and bureaucratic leadership styles affect sustainable organizational energy. Besides, organizational ambidexterity fully mediates the relationship between leadership styles and sustainable organizational energy. On the other hand, the results of non-compensatory relationships revealed organizational ambidexterity is the most determinant of sustainable organizational energy, followed by bureaucratic leadership. As a result, leadership styles encourage human resources to perform tasks with energy and vitality. In family businesses, bureaucratic leadership increases job immersion and positive motivations toward work challenges.Research limitations/implicationsFrom a practitioner's perspective, leaders and practitioners must encourage creativity and idea generation to give members sufficient strength to work and focus on goals that support building sustainable organizational energy. A family business is a type of capitalism that significantly impacts employees. The family-owned businesses surveyed by first-generation families lack subsidiaries and are ingrained in a paternalistic culture that offers employees greater security at a lower wage. Although there are few details, the study sample size is small and has limitations. This study suggests that understanding the leadership styles on sustainable organizational energy and using the mediator role of organizational ambidexterity in the family business has immense value. Characteristics such as transformational, transactional and bureaucratic leadership styles have a significant role in sustainable organizational energy. Also, organizational ambidexterity is the mediator for the relationship between leadership styles and sustainable organizational energy.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on the effect of leadership styles on sustainable organizational energy through organizational ambidexterity in family firms. In this context, the novelty of this study includes two perceptions. The first explored the impact of exploration and exploitation on sustainable organizational energy. The second investigates linear and nonlinear relationships to predict sustainable organizational energy determinants.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand the influence of the transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles and collaborative integrative behavior of the team with respect to organizational ambidexterity (the combination of exploration and exploitation learning) in university research groups.Design/methodology/approachFrom a survey conducted with a sample of 506 researchers, members of 165 research groups, working in an emerging economy, a multiple regression model analysis was performed.FindingsFindings of this study provide evidence that the coordinator's transformational leadership and the collaborative integrative behavior of the team positively influence organizational ambidexterity of research groups. Transactional leadership and laissez-faire style do not show any significant influence.Originality/valueThis study addresses the lack of knowledge regarding organizational learning in research groups to explore and exploit knowledge through research result transfer processes based on the organizational ambidexterity logic in higher education institutions (HEIs) from emerging economies. The study aims to contribute to the literature on leadership styles and ambidexterity in HEIs in emerging economies, particularly in Latin America, where there is still a scarcity of research on the attributes of effective leadership.

PurposeThe present study aims to explore the linkages among transformational leadership, workplace spirituality and frontline employee (FLE) service recovery performance in the aviation service industry. The resilience of individuals was taken as a mediator for the associations between transformational leadership as well as workplace spirituality and frontline employee's service recovery performance. The hypothesized research model was examined by integrating the principles of COR theory and the SDT perspective on psychological needs.Design/methodology/approachThe research model was evaluated via partial least squares (PLS). In particular, SmartPLS 3.0 software was utilized to examine anticipated correlations through a poll of 371 air service provider frontline employees.FindingsResults demonstrated that transformational leadership had a positive impact on both service recovery performance and spirituality in the workplace. The positive connection between workplace spirituality and service recovery performance was also supported. Further, the mediating role of an employee's resilience in these relationships was established. The paper provides a significant contribution with both theoretical and practical implications.Practical implicationsThe present research also provides some practical implications for the aviation industry. Since the aviation industry is a high-contact service industry, aviation frontline employees play a crucial role in service recovery strategies. Thus, air service providers need to provide these employees with ample resources to effectively handle service failures. Moreover, the service recovery performance of air service providers may benefit from the hiring of managers with strong transformational leadership styles. Therefore, these providers should take leadership style into account when recruiting, promoting and training supervisors. Managers should, among other activities, implement transformational leadership approaches, such as inspiring and motivating, establishing a supportive organizational climate, paying attention to employees' needs and engaging in active listening.Originality/valueThe current study contributes to the stream of research on SRP and the role of transformational leadership, workplace spirituality and resilience in service recovery in particular. Furthermore, by integrating the COR and SDT theories, the current study gives more real-world proof of the importance of leadership for organizations.

Abstract: One of the causes of decreased employee performance is a lack of leadership or entrepreneurial style. Entrepreneurial role is very important to implement in entrepreneurship because it is one of the keys to success in the company. The entrepreneurs in this study are Entrepreneurial leadership and entrepreneur's passion which have a considerable influence on employee performance and influence the company's success in achieving the goals set by supporting the human resources in the company. This research was conducted to determine the effect of entrepreneurial leadership and entrepreneur's passion on employee work performance and the effect of entrepreneurial leadership on entrepreneur's passion. Collecting research data distributed 203 questionnaires to respondents who are employees of food industry companies in Indonesia at the middle management to upper management levels. This study uses non-probability sampling, with a purposive sampling method. The data analysis technique used in this study is Smart-PLS 3.0 software with the Structural Equation Model (SEM) - Partial Least Square (PLS) method. Based on the results of this study, shows that Entrepreneurial Leadership has a significant influence on Entrepreneur's Passion, Entrepreneurial Leadership has a significant influence on Work Performance, and Entrepreneur's Passion has a significant influence on work performance.

The current study aims to determine the extent of using ambidextrous leadership in its dimensions: open leadership behaviors, closed leadership behaviors, and flexibility of switching in enhancing organizational ambidexterity in its dimensions: exploratory ambidexterity, investment ambidexterity, and structural ambidexterity, to identify the correlations and influence between the variables in the General Ports Company Iraq. The task of the study revolved around raising several research questions: How essential and clear are the diversities of his studies for the "General Company for Ports of Iraq" about the study? Does ambidextrous leadership have a role in enhancing organizational ambidexterity? Is there a relationship and impact between ambidextrous leadership and organizational ambidexterity in the company under study? The study was conducted by collecting data on the questionnaire as a primary tool for achieving the goals and personal interviews with some employees. A total of 325 questionnaires were distributed to determine the extent of the impact of brilliant leadership on organizational prowess, and 306 that were suitable for statistical analysis were recovered. Statistical methods, such as SPSS, were utilized to determine the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, response rate, Pearson correlation coefficient, t-test for one sample mean, simple linear regression equation, and Cronbach's Alpha test. The study showed that ambidextrous leadership affects all dimensions (open, closed, and change flexibility) of organizational ambidexterity activities. The most significant impact was the dimension of flexibility of shift on the organization in a direct positive manner, and that ambidextrous leadership in its three dimensions has a substantial relationship in achieving employees' innovative performance. Also, the study recommended that the organization balance ambidexterity activities by working to open vertical and horizontal communication channels between employees and their managers to reach a state of general integration for all administrative units to seize internal and external opportunities and raise the organizational prowess to an excellent level specific leadership style, as it appeared that it applies the ambidextrous leadership style at an average level. It means that it does not practice this style. Not only are there other leadership styles unknown to the researcher that share the study style, but the study recommended considering the topic of leadership as a topic that impacts the organization's progress. It must apply ambidextrous leadership in all its parts without neglecting any part to achieve significant benefit in its various joints and adopt Scientific approaches and methods to enhance ambidextrous leadership behaviors, specifically closed behaviors, in the researched company.

Explaining ambidextrous leadership in the aerospace and defense organizations

This study examined high-performance work practices, perceived institutional agility and resilience, organizational ambidexterity (including exploration and exploitation dimensions), organizational culture, and the leadership style of state university managers in the National Capital Region. A total of 127 respondents participated in the research. The researcher utilized frequency and percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the results. The findings revealed that, among the dimensions of organizational ambidexterity, only exploration mediates the effects of high-performance work practices on perceived institutional agility and resilience. Additionally, the study found that organizational culture did not moderate the relationship between high-performance work practices and organizational ambidexterity dimensions. Furthermore, leadership styles did not moderate the impact of organizational ambidexterity dimensions on perceived institutional agility and resilience. It is recommended that future researchers investigate alternative moderating variables that could influence the relationships between high-performance work practices, ambidexterity, and perceived institutional agility and resilience. Longitudinal studies examining changes over time, as well as qualitative approaches exploring the lived experiences of state university managers, could provide deeper insights. Additionally, consider the conduct of comparative analysis methods to test differences between state universities. The findings provide valuable guidance for state university managers and leaders in Philippine public education to improve institutional agility and enhance managerial capabilities.

Nowadays, maintaining the psychological wellbeing (PWB) of employees is one of the most significant challenges for organizations. Hence, the leadership role is critical in managing PWB when organizational dynamics are changing, particularly in terms of the exploration and exploitation of emerging technologies and innovation. Therefore, this study examines the influence of transformational (TFL) and transactional (TSL) leadership styles on PWB with the mediating role of organizational ambidexterity (OA). A deductive approach was adopted to test the developed hypothesis. At the same time, data were gathered from 253 employees working in pharmaceutical companies using a questionnaire, and the collected data were analyzed using SmartPLS. Results indicate that TFL has a significant impact on PWB while TSL has no impact. Furthermore, OA mediates the relationship between TFL, TFL, and PWB. Hence, the organization needs to develop strategies for the improvement of the PWB of employees, utilising leadership styles in the presence of OA. Additionally, this study offers policy implications and future directions for researchers. Keywords: Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, Organizational Ambidexterity, Psychological Wellbeing

Currently, the center of Korean businesses moves from conglomerates to small enterprises which occupy 50% of Korean businesses with the criteria of sales in 2010. This is the result of not only the boom of venture businesses but also the development of knowledge-based internet businesses. Therefore, the recent trend of small enterprises is clearly that they gradually take the leadership positions in Korean business markets away from conglomerates based on the development of knowledge-based businesses. Although the leadership transfer is happening gradually, the trend will be even more strengthened from now on. Factors like more various consumer preferences and profitability based on creative ideas with relatively small capitals change the previous natures of industrial structures, and small enterprises tend to adopt this new situation better than conglomerates. As the importance of small enterprises grows bigger with this trend, the importance of roles of entrepreneurs grows bigger as well. Entrepreneurs of small enterprises need to have different leadership styles than those of conglomerates since small enterprises have different foundation structures of small scales. This may affect levels of job satisfaction, but no research has been proved the correlation. Therefore, a research needs to suggest the leadership styles through which entrepreneurs of small enterprises can increase job satisfaction. Also, a research needs to suggest appropriate entrepreneur spirits for leaders of small enterprises. Consequently, this research examines the roles of CEOs of small enterprises. This research is based on the assumption that entrepreneur spirits are core competencies of businesses as well as the assumption that characteristics of CEOs differ depending on industries. In the other word, this research is based on that entrepreneur spirits can affect job satisfaction of employees thus directly contributing to core competencies of companies. This research is based on analyses of literatures which include theses for doctorates in Korea, books about human resources organizations, theses of Wotrmam in 1999, and other non-Korean theses. From these sources, many non-Korean cases were reviewed, and concepts were organized. Based on the analyses, the questions of the survey for this research were derived. Preliminary researches enabled further changes of the questions so that they can be more appropriate. In addition to the literature analyses, this research is also based on a survey analysis. The survey targets 200 employees of small enterprises near Seoul, and the enterprises are in knowledge-based manufacturing industries and technology-based IT industries. The survey in a paper form aims at figuring out the effects of entrepreneur spirits on core competencies of firms based on 47 questions from a Likert scale. This research aims at analyzing different entrepreneur tendencies depending on industries thus suggesting most favorable entrepreneur spirits which can magnify small enterprises’ values and enable their long-term sustainability. As a result, entrepreneur spirits of small enterprises affect core competencies a lot, and the most favorable spirits differ depending on industries. Especially for knowledge-based businesses, creativity is an important factor in terms of the leadership of entrepreneurs. This leadership type for small enterprises differs from that for conglomerates. From the research about effects of entrepreneur spirits of small enterprises on job satisfaction of YooGeun Shin in 1999, it is proved that the leadership types preferred by employees differ from those of existing CEOs. If this gap between employee’s preferences and existing leadership styles becomes smaller, companies will be able to have much stronger competencies thus achieving the increase in sales as well as long-term growth.

Wear glasses for supervisors to discover the beauty of subordinates: Supervisor developmental feedback and organizational ambidexterity

Background: This study examines the role of the principal in developing organizational culture at SMP Negeri 1 Somagede. The organizational culture at this school encompasses religious values, integrity, social interaction, cooperation, and politeness, which are implemented by the principal, teachers, educational staff, and students. Method: The research employs a qualitative approach with a case study method. Data collection techniques include interviews, observations, and documentation. Findings: The findings indicate that the principal performs five main roles: as an individual, educator, leader, manager, and entrepreneur. The principal adopts democratic, visionary, transformational, and bureaucratic leadership styles to foster organizational culture. The development of organizational culture at SMP Negeri 1 Somagede includes literacy programs, teacher on-duty assignments, women’s studies groups, Qurban learning programs, Friday IKSAN activities (Faith, Cleanliness, Health, and Counseling), as well as forums for discussion and sharing best practices within the learning community. Conclusion: The success of organizational culture development is supported by effective communication, recognition of performance, and the principal's innovation in creating a conducive environment. Challenges include shifting the mindset of school members, which are addressed through supervision, coordination, and incentives. Novelty/Originality of this Study: The research uniquely emphasizes the principal’s entrepreneurial role in education, demonstrating how strategic leadership can drive cultural and operational improvements in schools. This study underscores the importance of the principal's role in building an organizational culture that fosters a productive, harmonious learning environment aligned with contemporary developments.

What drives entrepreneurs to engage in antisocial economic behaviors? Without dismissing entrepreneurs’ agency in their decision-making processes, our study aims to answer this question by proposing that antisocial economic behaviors are a dysfunctional coping mechanism to reduce the psychological tension that entrepreneurs face in their day-to-day activities. Further, given the overlap between the male gender role stereotype and both leader and entrepreneur role stereotypes, this psychological tension should be stronger in female entrepreneurs (or any person who identifies with the female gender role). We argue that besides the well-established female gender role – leader role incongruence, female entrepreneurs also suffer a female gender role – entrepreneur role incongruence. Thus, we predicted that men (or those identifying with the male gender role) or entrepreneurs (regardless of their gender identity) that embrace these roles stereotypes to an extreme, are more likely to engage in antisocial economic behaviors. In this context, the term antisocial economic behaviors refers to cheating or trying to harm competitors’ businesses. Finally, we predicted that embracing an authentic leadership style might mitigate this effect. We tested our predictions in two laboratory studies (Phase 1 and 2). For Phase 1 we recruited a sample of French Business school students (N = 82). For Phase 2 we recruited a sample of Costa Rican male and female entrepreneurs, using male and female managers as reference groups (N = 64). Our results show that authentic leadership reduced the likelihood of entrepreneurs and men of engaging in antisocial economic behaviors such as trying to harm one’s competition or seeking an unfair advantage.

Purpose This paper aims to propose an analytical framework in which to study ambidexterity in the management of policy networks. The paper is inspired by the concept of organizational ambidexterity in the public sector (Smith and Umans, 2015). By focusing on policy networks fostered by public administration with the aim of supporting small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) innovation, the paper elaborates on the links between firm innovation and performance and regional development. The cases analyzed are policy networks fostered by two publicly owned county development agencies in the Basque Country (Spain). An analytical framework emerges from bridging the gap between theory and practice. By understanding ambidexterity as a dynamic capability, the authors found that key ambidexterity drivers are related to network features (motivation to balance exploration and exploitation and diversity in terms of participants) and the individual feature of diversity within the network management group. However, other individual characteristics (leadership style) and territorial features (local institutional capacity) did not provide conclusive insights, calling for a deeper analysis and complex models to capture specific nuances. Design/methodology/approach The method used in the empirical part of the paper is the case study, as it considers the contextual conditions pertaining to a phenomenon (Yin, 2009) and helps understand present dynamics in specific contexts (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2009). Flyvbjerg (2006) examines common misunderstandings about case studies to conclude that social science may be strengthened by the execution of greater number of good case studies. Following his arguments, the authors consider that practical knowledge is also valuable together with theory, that is why the framework is not derived exclusively form theory but from the interaction and mutual influence of theory and practice. Findings The case studies lead to a discussion on the effect of network, territorial and individual characteristics (including management/facilitation modes) on network outcomes, including innovation performance of firms and network sustainability. Additionally, these cases show the importance of different factors as necessary conditions and key discriminants when supporting ambidextrous networks. The case analysis and the integration of the theory in this analysis allow observing the evolution of both networks, developing some conclusions on the core factors that influenced these trajectories, thus proposing an analytical framework. Specifically, it can be seen that some of the factors conditioned the ambidextrous strategy of the network. Practical implications The main implication of the paper in practice is that the concept of ambidexterity and the framework developed to understand some of its features are a useful tool to diagnose policy networks. The impact in society inspired in this implication is that authors, through the discussion workshops mentioned in the methodology section, have helped the community of policy network managers in Gipuzkoa reflect and improve their strategies and consider the potential of not exclusively focusing on exploration or exploitation. Consequently, the impact on society, in this case on policy networks in the region, has gone beyond the cases studied. Originality/value The paper proposes the concept of ambidexterity as one that helps analyze the ability of policy networks to foster SMEs innovation. Managerial literature has extensively analyzed the importance of modes to foster ambidexterity within organizations (Gibson and Birkenshaw, 2004; He and Wong, 2004; Levinthal and March, 1993; Lubatkin et al., 2006) and also its individual dimension (Volery et al., 2015). Managerial focus on policy networks and its link to organizational ambidexterity thus remain understudied. Although private sector literature has explored both concepts, the relation between them has not been analyzed (Smith and Umans, 2015).

The existing studies support the positive impact of organizational ambidexterity on a firm’s performance and its ability to succeed in the dynamic environments resulted from the COVID-19 pandemics or contexts characterized by a variety of rising tensions. In business organizations, ambidexterity manifests itself in maintaining a balance between exploration and exploitation strategies. Achieving ambidexterity is a challenging managerial task. The purpose of this paper is to identify behaviours of firms to increase their ability to develop and maintain ambidexterity as well as specify organizational systems and processes that induce and balance both exploitation and exploration. The authors develop an integrative framework that provides a comprehensive understanding of the path towards ambidexterity in organizations. This review reveals the fact that with the purpose to meet the conflicting demands of the ambidexterity agenda, managers should adapt the organizational culture, strategic goals and structure in order to implement two incompatible innovation strategies. The study identifies three closely related ambidexterity support systems and their underlying mechanisms, procedures, and leadership styles. Also, the main gaps in the literature and relevant directions for further empirical research are outlined. Keywords: ambidexterity, balance, exploration, exploitation.

Although research on organizational ambidexterity has exploded in the past several years, the determinants of individual‐level ambidexterity have received little scholarly attention. This is surprising given that management scholars increasingly highlight the benefits of combining explorative and exploitative activities in individual employees’ work roles. Using data collected by a two‐wave survey of 638 employees nested in 173 groups across 34 organizations, our research demonstrates that both psychological factors and leadership predict employees’ ambidextrous behaviour. Our results demonstrate that general self‐efficacy positively predicts ambidextrous behaviour through learning orientation. In addition, we show that employees exhibit higher ambidexterity when their group managers demonstrate paradoxical leadership; that is, a leadership style that couples strong managerial support with high performance expectations. Paradoxical leadership also moderates the relationship between learning orientation and individual ambidexterity such that employees’ ambidextrous behaviour is highest when paradoxical leadership and employee learning orientation are simultaneously at high levels.