Paradox Lens Research Articles

Five paradoxes navigated by incumbent private sector firms moving towards climate-oriented innovation in food systems

The role of large private sector firms in rerouting our food systems towards sustainability through climate-oriented innovation is highly contested. The contestation has resulted in a portrayal in academic literature of these incumbents as either the key driver of sustainability transitions or as fundamentally contradictory to addressing climate change in food systems. Controversies and tensions can reinforce stalemates, which hamper progress towards climate-oriented innovation. This study explores the utility of a paradox lens which shifts the research gaze to the emergence of unavoidable and persistent tensions in encounters of distinct logics and lines of action, and opens space to examine how these encounters can nevertheless be used productively and creatively in overcoming stalemates. Based on reflexive practice and interviews with professionals from seven purposefully selected incumbent private sector firms in the agri-food sector, we identify five paradoxes: the paradox of direction—between mitigation and adaptation; the paradox of justification—between exploration and exploitation; the paradox of internal alignment—between mainstreaming and specialization; the paradox of external alignment—between collaboration and competition; and the paradox of evidence—between accountability and learning. Our analysis of how agri-food firms navigate paradoxes focuses on considerations, tensions, and decisions in organizing climate-oriented innovation. In our discussion, we examine whether and how paradoxical thinking enables civil society practitioners to accelerate climate-oriented innovation in food systems through interactions and collaborations with the private sector. We conclude that a paradox lens affords researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to move beyond the binary view on the role of incumbents’ climate-oriented innovation, and instead provides strategic insights for engaging incumbents and their inherent contradictions in transforming our food systems under a changing climate.

Industrial districts, multinational corporations, and their local/global paradoxes

Over the past fifteen years, several studies have used the organizational theory of paradoxes to understand some typical organizational tensions, including that between global and local dimensions typically faced by multinational corporations. ese studies analyze paradoxical tensions at the organizational or even intra-organizational level, while the paradox lens has not yet been applied to study systems such as industrial districts. is paper attempts to do so by analyzing and comparing the local/global paradox in multinational corporations and industrial districts. For the latter, the analysis rests on some empirical studies conducted on Italian districts. Moreover, as the presence of multinationals in these districts has become stronger in the recent phase, an attempt has been made to understand if and how this phenomenon impacts the local/global tension at the district level.

Internationalisation with Chinese characteristics: exploring the paradox in students' experiences at Sino-foreign cooperative universities

ABSTRACT Although previous research has explored the impact of global and local forces on transnational higher education (TNHE) at a macro level, limited attention has been paid to students’ lived experiences navigating the mixed influences. To address the research gap, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 35 Chinese undergraduates enrolled in two Sino-foreign cooperative universities (SFCUs). From the theoretical lens of paradox, this study revealed the inherent tensions in the dynamic and hybrid educational practices at SFCUs, arising from the internationalisation of higher education with Chinese characteristics. The overlapping values of cosmopolitanism, nationalism, neoliberalism, and authoritarianism have repercussions on the programme structure, academic discourse, and university management. The findings indicate that students negotiated the tensions in various manners, including following the prevailing discourse, challenging the global imagery, and recognising the complexity of situation. The presence of conflicting influences led some students to develop hierarchical binary thinking towards knowledge and elicit ambivalent emotions towards institutions, while others achieved a wholeness of self through self-reflection. This study contributes to a new scholarly perspective on exploring students’ unique experiences in TNHE.

Integrated usage of artificial intelligence, blockchain and the internet of things in logistics for decarbonization through paradox lens

The objective of this study was to identify, assess, and prioritize resolution strategies to address paradoxes associated with the integrated use of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) in logistics for decarbonization. To achieve these objectives, a four-phase mixed-methods approach was employed, involving the identification, prioritization, and verification of resolution strategies for their significance in managing paradoxes. A panel of 10 experts with experience in adopting AI, blockchain, and IoT in logistics participated in the study. The study identified ten key resolution strategies: education & training, coordination & collaboration, government regulations & support, standardized data format and protocol, modular architecture, interoperability standard, process optimization, security auditing, management participation, and man–machine interactions. Using an integrated multicriteria decision-making approach, the study presented compromised rank of these strategies based on their effectiveness in addressing paradoxes. The most significant resolution strategy identified was modular architecture. This was followed by a second compromise solution set of interoperability standards, process optimization, management participation, coordination & collaboration, and man–machine interactions, and a third compromise solution set including education & training, government regulation & support, standardized data format, and security auditing. The derived solutions were then verified by logistics domain experts. This study provided the first empirical investigation of paradox theory related to the adoption of AI, blockchain, and IoT for decarbonization in logistics. Overall, the study enhanced the understanding of competing demands, tensions, and complexities involved in adopting digital technologies for decarbonization using paradox theory.

Core competencies for digital leadership development: a perspective from the lens of paradox theory

PurposeIn an era marked by artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), this study presents a research paradigm centered on nurturing fundamental skills crucial for effective digital leadership in a paradoxical age where leaders are ambitious as well as skeptical for the adoption of such technologies. This study offers a strategic framework to seamlessly integrate diverse technologies into leadership development; the objective is to bridge the divide between theoretical understanding and practical implementation, especially through the lens of paradox theory.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual study delineates essential attributes that digital leaders must cultivate, drawing insights from the corpus of literature encompassing leadership, technology and organizational advancement. Synthesizing theoretical perspectives, the study proposes a comprehensive research framework that provides a systematic approach to harnessing the potential of AI, VR and AR to enhance leadership competencies. This conceptual study significantly contributes to paradox theory through method of “theory adaptation” as elaborated in the literature.FindingsThe study unveils a spectrum of foundational proficiencies, including technological acumen, adaptability, strategic acumen, effective communication, collaborative aptitude and ethical acumen, among others. These competencies underscore the multifaceted skill set required of digital leaders. To adeptly traverse the intricate digital terrain, foster innovation and align technological advancements with organizational objectives, these proficiencies are imperative for digital leaders to possess.Originality/valueThe distinctiveness of this study lies in its all-encompassing approach to digital leadership development by offering a paradoxical perspective and hence making a contribution to the body of knowledge for paradox theory. By amalgamating AI, VR and AR into a cohesive framework, the study enhances the comprehension of how these technologies collaboratively nurture leaders capable of cultivating organizational triumph in the digital age. This proposed paradigm serves as a bridge between cutting-edge digital technology usage and leadership proficiency paradox, furnishing pragmatic insights to benefit both academic researchers and industry practitioners.

The paradox of the teacher‐driven professional learning community in a hierarchical organization: A Chinese school case

AbstractProfessional learning community (PLC) has drawn global attention in the field of adult learning. This study applies paradox theory to examine how a group of Chinese school teachers transform their teaching practices in a self‐organized PLC without school policy support. The researchers applied the biographic‐narrative‐interpretive method (BNIM) to conduct 19 one‐on‐one interviews with eight teachers who were members of the PLC. The results showed that teachers who perceived their experiences through a paradoxical lens had a longer commitment to the PLC. The findings also revealed that the headteacher and school principal's informal leadership practices empowered teachers to navigate barriers caused by oppositional forces. The study offers insights into how a teacher‐driven PLC can be sustained in a hierarchical organization and suggests a three‐step iteration emphasizing the criticalness of learning‐by‐implementation.

Navigating paradoxes: building a sustainable strategy for an integrated ESG corporate governance

PurposeOrganisations are confronted with the challenge of navigating various pressures arising from activities that shape environmental and social impacts, which stakeholders find significant. This research endeavours to ascertain a process facilitating the analysis and seamless integration of sustainability into corporate strategy. The goal is to establish an “integrated” ESG governance framework adept at effectively managing institutional pressures.Design/methodology/approachThis research employs an action research approach, focusing on a leading company within the sugar industry. The investigation delves into the relationship dynamics associated with business issues through a process that engages, either directly or indirectly, board members, top managers, as well as industrial and commercial customers, along with final consumers.FindingsThe formulation of a sustainability strategy serves as a guiding framework for the Board of Directors in effectively navigating tensions arising from environmental, social and economic pressures.Research limitations/implicationsThe research contributes to bridging the realms of business governance and institutional theory (viewed under a paradoxical lens). On a managerial level, the study introduces a structured process aimed at seamlessly integrating sustainability objectives into governance, aligning with international ESG guidelines (OECD, 2023; WEF, 2020).Originality/valueThe originality of this research lies in crafting a sustainability strategy by the BoD that takes into account the impact of governance and responds to the demands of strategic stakeholders.

Reimagining the bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy debate: a systematic literature review on paradoxes in public administration

ABSTRACT The relation between bureaucracy and postbureaucracy sparks debate within public administration (PA), typically conceptualized as a ‘simplistic’ replacement of alternative paradigms. However, scholars argued for the coexistence of bureaucratic and postbureaucratic features in PAs, which may foster paradoxical tensions. This article contributes to this debate adopting a paradox lens, and by employing the PRISMA methodology to systematize literature on PA-paradoxes, and their relation to bureaucracy and postbureaucracy. The findings reveal the pervasiveness of PA paradoxes and their relation to bureaucracy-post-bureaucracy contraposition. Therefore, this paper enriches the traditional conceptualization of bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy with a more reconciliatory approach through paradoxical lens.

To ChatGPT, or not to ChatGPT: Navigating the paradoxes of generative AI in the advertising industry

Generative AI (GenAI) technology is evoking both excitement and fear about its potential impact across a host of industries—including advertising, where it is expected to have a significant disruptive effect. This article utilizes the paradox lens to explore the implications of text-to-text GenAI in the form of ChatGPT for the advertising industry. Drawing on 48 interviews with advertising professionals, we identify three operational paradoxes that are associated with conducting research, creativity, efficiency, and one psychological paradox related to work identity. To gain a competitive advantage, we urge practitioners to adopt a confrontation-based coping strategy to navigate these paradoxes. This can be mobilized via an ambidexterity or contingency paradox management approach. We outline specific tactics in this article.

Paradoxical tensions during industry 4.0 integration within health care: managing tensions for quality improvement

PurposeThe integration of industry 4.0 has become a priority for many organizations. However, not all organizations are suitable and capable of implementing industry 4.0 because it requires a dynamic and flexible implementation strategy. The implementation of industry 4.0 often involves overcoming several tensions between internal and external stakeholders. This paper aims to explore the paradoxical tensions that arise for health-care organizations when integrating industry 4.0. Moreover, it discusses how a paradox lens can support the conceptualization and proposes techniques for handling tensions during the integration of industry 4.0.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative and in-depth study draws upon 32 semi-structured interviews. The empirical case concerns how two health-care organizations handle paradoxical tensions during the integration of industry 4.0.FindingsThe exploration resulted in six recurring technology tensions: technology invention (modularized design vs. flexible design), technology collaboration (automation vs. human augmentation), technology-driven patient experience (control vs. autonomy), technology uncertainty (short-term experimentation vs. long-term planning), technology invention and diffusion through collaborative efforts among stakeholders (selective vs. intensive collaboration) and technological innovation (market maintenance vs. disruption).Originality/valueA paradox theory-informed conceptual model is proposed for how to handle tensions during the integration of industry 4.0. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to introduce paradox theory for quality management, including lean and Six Sigma.

Broadening the Scope of Operations and Supply Chain Management Scholarship on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Justice, Paradox, and Dialectical Lenses

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been gaining attention in operations and supply chain management (OSCM) research but is often narrowly framed and dominated by instrumental logic. We offer three lenses that potentially broaden the scope of this scholarship: justice, paradox, and dialectical. The justice logic frames DEI as primarily a moral concern of inequality in firms and supply chains. It goes against an instrumental, performance-driven approach to establishing DEI in OSCM. To understand the persistence of tensions in DEI implementation, we present a paradox lens and link it to OSCM through four major types of organizational paradoxes: performing, organizing, learning, and belonging. We employ a dialectical perspective to resolve these tensions and combine instrumental and justice logics to explore how the latter can help firms realize DEI's (often unfulfilled) performance potential. OSCM scholars are well placed to use justice, paradox, and dialectical lenses to assess pathways for realizing DEI's transformative potential through modeling, decision support, and empirical research. Such research can help managers pursue objectives that conflict with or go beyond instrumental DEI, thus contributing to substantive DEI implementation.

Organizational and social justice paradoxes in EDI.

This perspective article positions social justice as an addition to the aims of organizational justice, and core to diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI). It problematizes simplistic DEI rhetoric and positions paradoxes within DEI, as experienced by employers, based on an explanation of key justice concepts and the introduction of fairness, equality, desert, and need. The paper broadens perspective-taking beyond a sole focus on beneficiaries of DEI, towards tensions that employers experience in working towards the aims of workplace justice, including the embeddedness of social justice within both organizations and social systems. The paper concludes with avenues for future research and a call to carefully examine simplistic notions of organizational justice in effecting DEI, suggesting a paradoxical lens on embracing, rather than avoiding, multiple and often conflicting workplace justice imperatives.

Visibilizing and managing paradox: redefining the role of non-executive directors

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss the work of non-executive directors (NEDs) as inherently paradoxical. Paradox refers to the presence of persistent contradictions between interdependent forces. Those persistent tensions are explored, and approaches are indicated to stimulate the adaptive use of paradoxes as forces of innovation and renewal.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual approach can be read as an invitation for corporate governance scholars to embrace the logic of paradox to expand the understanding of this topic. Paradox is not conceptualized as an alternative to dominant structural views, including board composition, but as a complementary conceptual perspective, a meta-theoretical lens to shed light on the tensions inherent to governance.FindingsThe authors propose that paradox theory offers a fresh conceptual lens to study the role of NEDs. This approach may help NEDs to turn tensions and paradoxes visible to develop a rich understanding of their work, as well as helping them navigate the complexities of organizing, a process rich in inherent paradoxicality.Originality/valueOrganizational paradox theory is a bourgeoning field of study, but the conceptual lens of paradox has still been underexplored in the study of corporate governance.

Reconceptualising diversity management from a paradox lens

PurposeSince the 1980's, diversity management (DM) has been regarded as a relevant scholarly and practical endeavour laden with different and often contrasting rationales and conceptualisations. In this regard, the current literature on DM largely differentiates between two overarching approaches – the instrumental and the critical approach with varying conceptualisations and underlying understandings of DM. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a paradox lens can be utilised to bridge existing understandings of diversity management.Design/methodology/approachThe authors aim to discuss the current state of DM literature and reconceptualise DM from a paradox lens.FindingsThe authors argue that the use of a paradox lens on DM allows for challenges to be brought forward instead of ignored or hidden away by illuminating and actively acknowledging both the liberating but also the challenging and oftentimes constraining experiences for the actors involved. Thus, a Paradox lens offers space for embracing and utilising paradoxes when working with diversity.Originality/valueDiversity management is no new concept in the field of human resource management and several scholars argue that the longstanding divide between the instrumental and critical approach remains problematic and limiting for the practice of DM. Hence, the value of reconceptualising DM from a paradox lens lies in bridging the two approaches in order to give way to viewing DM as a nuanced, dynamic and multifaceted practice that can accommodate complexity and contradictions in new and potentially beneficial manners.

Investigating sustainability tensions and resolution strategies in the plastic food packaging industry—A paradox theory approach

AbstractIncreasing food waste, natural resource depletion, and climate change issues have forced plastic food packaging (PFP) companies to align their business strategies with sustainability aspects. At the same time, however, companies operating in the food packaging industry continue to face tensions while pursuing divergent sustainability goals simultaneously. Drawing on paradox theory, this study aims to examine paradoxical sustainability tensions in the PFP industry and propose potential resolution strategies to resolve diverse tensions arising from addressing competing social, economic, and environmental concerns simultaneously. To this end, we employed a qualitative research methodology and interviewed 15 senior corporate managers and consultants in the PFP industry. Based on the empirical data, we develop categories of sustainability tensions related to operations and supply chain, recycling, and external stakeholders associated with performing, organizing, learning, and belonging paradoxes. Further, we propose resolution strategies including multi‐stakeholder collaboration, research and innovation, circular economy, and use of integrated business strategies which are aligned with the acceptance, spatial separation, temporal separation, and synthesis approaches of the paradox theory. To the best of our knowledge, it is one of the early studies that embrace a paradox lens to investigate the sustainability tensions and resolution strategies in the PFP industry. Further, the study results could guide practitioners and policymakers in the PFP industry to comprehend underlying paradoxical sustainability tensions and promote resolution strategies to address divergent yet desirable economic, social, and environmental considerations simultaneously.

Paradoxical career sensemaking among emerging adults

ABSTRACT Emerging adults, who are late millennials and Gen Z members, question the worth of higher education, especially in preparation for volatile labor markets, careers, and other precarities. We analyzed emerging adults’ sensemaking about this education–career–precarity mix through the constitutive lens of paradox using the applied tensional approach. We identified two main paradoxes centering around feelings of education and career security and vulnerability: (a) students’ beliefs about educational attainment as leading directly to career success (golden ticket) that coexist with understandings that there are no guarantees; and (b) feelings of isolation in the self-managed career (“it’s all up to me”) that share space with desires for social networks but as educational products established by others and consistent with student-as-consumer and neoliberal ideologies. In demystifying these paradoxes, we advocate more-than approaches that position tensions as opportunities, incorporate both career development and critical communication pedagogy, and transcend through quality control interventions.

A new perspective on cooperation through the lens of Parrondo's paradox.

A new perspective on cooperation through the lens of Parrondo's paradox.

A paradox perspective on talent management: a multi-level analysis of paradoxes and their responses in talent management

With this paper, we aim to challenge the current theorizing in talent management (TM) that has generally been based on oversimplified assumptions, often approaching TM from a binary or an either/or perspective. We claim that adopting a paradox lens in which a both/and perspective is taken is essential to further deepen our theoretical understanding of the ill-understood tensions and ambiguities that are inherently part of managing talent. In this article, we take a paradox perspective to unravel the complexity of talent management by systematically reviewing the nature and prominence of paradoxes and their response mechanisms in the talent management literature and from the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational levels. We identified six primary paradoxes: (a) opportunities vs. pressures (at the intrapersonal level); (b) positive vs. negative effects of TM programs on employees (at the interpersonal level); and (c) talent as objective reality vs. socially constructed; (d) exclusiveness vs. inclusiveness; (e) transparency vs. ambiguity; and (f) standardization vs. customization (at the organizational level). Our review resulted in a multi-level framework of paradoxes in talent management and responds to calls for more pluralistic and balanced approaches to talent management. We believe that our review can assist researchers in adopting both/and perspectives when studying the complexity of the talent management phenomenon and can assist TM practitioners in navigating multiple paradoxes that are inherent to managing talent.

Embracing the paradox of customer experiences in the hospitality and tourism industry

AbstractThis paper aims to re‐evaluate the customer experience literature in the hospitality and tourism (H&T) domain by employing a paradox lens and constructing a model for future research direction and practitioners. Using two co‐citation analysis methods—a hierarchical cluster analysis and a multidimensional scaling analysis—to investigate 312 customer experience papers from the leading H&T journals with 22.124 citations over the 44‐year period (1987–2021), we identified five knowledge foundations that have made up the intellectual structure of customer experience in H&T: experiential consumption, authenticity, memorability, place branding, and service. This result reveals the dualistic representations of the paradoxical character of customer experience including authentic/fantastical, structured/unstructured, branded/ecological, and bubbled/exposed. Based on this finding, this study developed a framework for scholars and marketers to reveal different approaches to managing the tensions between paradoxes.

Paradoxes of organisational learning in policing: ‘The truth, but not the whole truth, for everyone’s sake’

This article examines the complex and often contradictory dynamics of organisational learning through the lens of paradox. Based on a 4-year action research programme in policing, our findings reveal two key tensions relating to knowledge control (codification-discretion) and knowledge disclosure (transparency-occlusion). Casting paradox as an ‘ either/and’ relationship, we use these themes of control and disclosure to explore the interplay of learning (where actions either enable and inhibit learning) and emotion (where actions either reduce and increase anxiety). We consider how knowledge and learning are entangled in issues of emotional and institutional security, which operate at the threshold between public-service and public-served. In the psycho-politics of this relationship, the police attempt to safeguard either themselves from the anxiety of unwarranted blame and their communities from the anxiety of unmediated disclosure of the dangers of the world. From this perspective, we theorise organisational learning in policing as a paradox of either success and failure, either care and self-care and either potence and impotence. While grounded in policing, our reflections have a broader relevance for the ways in which knowledge tactics both shape and reflect relations between organisations and their key stakeholders, especially those based on the contingent and incongruous logics of service.