Utilizing organizational ambidexterity to implement long-term technical change in fast-paced manufacturing settings

Abstract

PurposeIn this paper, we focus on how and when organizations adopt different types of ambidexterity to facilitate projects that operate with fundamentally different time scales compared with the dominant functions of the organization.Design/methodology/approachUsing a comparative case study design, four case studies were conducted of long-term projects in two similar manufacturing plants within the same organization.FindingsWe found organizations first use structural and sequential ambidexterity in change efforts, during which new process knowledge is developed. When structural and sequential ambidexterity are not viable, change agents use this developed knowledge to support contextual ambidexterity. This contextual ambidexterity allows change agents to move between distinct time conceptions of event time and clock time.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the limitations of this study was that it only focused on two plants within one organization in order to control for variation. Future studies should look at a wider range of companies, technologies and industries.Practical implicationsWhile structurally and temporally decoupling change efforts help with differentiation of new technological change, there are limitations with these efforts. It is important to build an organization’s contextual ambidexterity as well as organizational supports to facilitate switching between clock time and event time.Originality/valueThis paper helps explain how and when organizations use different types of ambidexterity in resolving temporal conflicts when implementing longer-term technological change in fast-paced manufacturing settings.