Paradox Mindset Research Articles

Facing AI with knowledge: an investigative study on the utilisation of service robots and employee knowledge management behaviours

ABSTRACT Knowledge is the source of competitive advantage for employees in the labour market and for businesses in the services market. While academic research on knowledge management has made significant progress, the impact of robotic utilisation on the knowledge management behaviour of service employees remains limited, particularly with respect to the entry of artificial intelligence and robots into tourism and hospitality settings. Drawing on stress coping theory, this paper explores the mechanisms through which the utilisation of service robots influences employee knowledge management behaviour. Through a survey of 347 hotel employees, we conduct a multiple regression analysis on the data. The findings indicate that the utilisation of service robots positively influences employees’ knowledge management behaviours, with learning tensions partially mediating this relationship, and a paradox mindset negatively moderating the impact of learning tensions on knowledge management behaviour. The research findings theoretically enrich the body of knowledge in the areas of service robots, human-robot interaction, and knowledge management. Practically, the research conclusions provide insights for tourism and hospitality organisations adopting robots on how to embrace change, leverage the learning tensions and paradox mindset, and thereby fostering a more engaged and motivated workforce in the realm of knowledge management.

How does paradoxical leadership affect employee adaptive performance? A moderated mediation model

PurposeDrawing on the paradox perspective and the Job Demands-Resources Model (JD-R), we investigate how paradoxical leadership behavior (PLB) affects employee adaptive performance.Design/methodology/approachConducted a multi-wave field study with a sample of 64 leaders and 224 subordinates (study 1), and a quasi-experiment involving 156 participants (study 2). The collected data were analyzed using ANOVA and HLM techniques.FindingsBoth studies reveal that (1) PLB exhibits a positive association with employee adaptive performance, (2) employee paradox mindset and role stress partly mediated the relationship between PLB and employee adaptive performance, (3) the indirect effects of PLB on employee adaptive performance through employee paradox mindset and role stress are moderated by employee gender-role identity (GRI).Originality/valueThis research developed a moderated mediation model to examine the potential impact of PLB on employee adaptive performance, which contributes to the literature by integrating the paradox perspective and emphasizing the effectiveness of combining “top-down” and “bottom-up” leadership approaches. Moreover, we elucidate the underlying mechanisms through which PLB facilitates employees in effectively managing work role tensions to enhance adaptive performance Finally, this study also extends the investigation of the contextual efficacy of PLB by incorporating GRI as a moderator.

Beyond Dualities: The Influence of Regulatory Focus & Paradox Mindset on Workplace Ambidexterity

Beyond Dualities: The Influence of Regulatory Focus & Paradox Mindset on Workplace Ambidexterity

Learning About Paradoxes is Paradoxical: How Managers Improve Paradox Mindset Through Training

Learning About Paradoxes is Paradoxical: How Managers Improve Paradox Mindset Through Training

Integrated Paradox Mindset Development: A Design Science Approach

Integrated Paradox Mindset Development: A Design Science Approach

Development of Paradox Mindset, Ambidexterity and Well-Being by the Development of Consciousness

Development of Paradox Mindset, Ambidexterity and Well-Being by the Development of Consciousness

Employee performance under tension: the influence of employee creativity, paradox mindset, and psychological empowerment

PurposeFrontline employees frequently experience tension at work. Based on paradox theory, this study investigates why and when tension can result in positive performance outcomes and for whom tension can enhance creativity.Design/methodology/approachWe employed a time-lagged survey design to collect data in two waves with a four-week interval between waves. The questionnaire was distributed to frontline employees (i.e. doctors and nurses) serving in one public hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. The final sample included 216 front-line employees.FindingsThe study found that tension can promote employee performance through creativity. Employees with high paradox mindset levels especially tend to be more creative when experiencing tension. However, our findings did not support the idea that frontline employees who have been psychologically empowered tend to turn creative ideas into real practices and result in better employee performance.Originality/valueThe study advanced knowledge of the effect tension has on employee performance by investigating the mechanism through which experiencing tension can ultimately promote employee performance.

The emotional aftermath of choices: Examining how value-congruent behavior and paradox mindset support confident decision making

This article explores the emotional aftermath of public managers’ decision making in contradictory situations involving conflicting values. Drawing on contingency and paradox theory, the article investigates the impact of two processing modes – value-congruent behavior and paradox mindset – on decision-making confidence. The study surveyed 400 public school managers from the German-speaking part of Switzerland and conducted Spearman Rho correlations to test the hypotheses. According to the results of the study and its replication, about thirty percent of the public managers made decisions that were congruent with their individual hierarchy of values, but value-congruent behavior does not significantly support confident decision making. Conversely, paradox mindset appears to be more effective in supporting confident decision making, especially in the value conflict between ‘justice’ and ‘critique’.

Cultivating entrepreneurial human capital in multinational corporations: An intercultural paradox mindset lens

The development of an entrepreneurial strategic orientation is of growing concern for global corporations. Through a human capital lens, we probe how and when firms can develop and cultivate managerial entrepreneurial resources; by explicitly encouraging cross-cultural experiences that stimulate systematic shifts in mindset and behavior. Drawing on paradox theory and intercultural psychology, we put forth a model positing that cross-cultural experience (an endowment firms can either hire for or facilitate themselves) develops managerial entrepreneurialism—consisting of (a) venture ideation, (b) opportunity recognition, and (c) entrepreneurial behavior—through the intervening mechanism of a paradox mindset. As a boundary condition we uncover that paradox mindset formation partially hinges on home cultural tightness-looseness. We employ three distinct experiments on multinational samples of individual professionals (n = 506), active entrepreneurs (n = 370), and current managers in global firms (n = 288) to test our theorizing. Finding general support for our model, with analyses yielding important theoretical and practical implications from non-findings too, we conclude that a paradox mindset is a necessary, but not de facto, mediating step between cross-cultural experience and the cultivation of entrepreneurial managers. We also find that paradox mindset formation is conditional and related to home cultural tightness-looseness.

Walking the tight rope of DEI implementation: paradox mindset and emotional capabilities as preconditions for middle managers' success.

Walking the tight rope of DEI implementation: paradox mindset and emotional capabilities as preconditions for middle managers' success.

Leveraging the Dominant Pole: How Champions of an Industry-Wide Environmental Alliance Navigate Coopetition Paradoxes

Companies increasingly collaborate with competitors to innovate, minimize risks, and address sustainability crises. However, these alliances often falter or fail due to challenges arising from coopetition paradoxes—contradictory yet interdependent tensions between competition and cooperation. Extant research predominantly focuses on addressing these paradoxes through seeking a stable balance between competition and cooperation; however, we lack in-depth processual understandings of how to navigate these paradoxes as they shift over time. To address this gap in the literature, we analyze longitudinal data over the 3 years it took to establish Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), the unlikely alliance across 13 competitive Canadian oil sands companies to improve their industry’s environmental performance. We noted the role of competition, which we label as the dominant pole—the more powerful of two paradoxical poles—and identify leveraging the dominant pole as a core mechanism for navigating intensifying coopetition paradoxes. Rather than diminishing the dominant competition pole, alliance champions leveraged competition to enable cooperation aided by a paradox mindset. These findings reorient coopetition scholarship away from seeking stability between the two forces, toward a processual understanding of how to navigate the shifting coopetition paradoxes in alliances over time.

A paradox theory lens for developing cross-cultural competence: Mindset, behavior, and work design

Cross-cultural competence (CCC) is one of the most effective means for expatriates to overcome cultural tensions and liabilities of foreignness on international assignments. Drawing upon a paradox theory lens, this study delineates a moderated mediation model that unpacks the mindset, behavior, and work design features which empower the development of CCC in the context of expatriate assignment. To test this model, we obtained survey data from 244 expatriate managers, matched with survey responses from 244 local colleagues, nominated by each expatriate. Structural equation modelling revealed that both holistic thinking and attributional complexity predict CCC via paradoxical behavior. In addition, opportunity-enhancing work design positively moderated the indirect relationship between attributional complexity and CCC. Such findings highlight the importance of embracing a paradox mindset and paradoxical behaviors for competency building on international tasks. The practical implications for expatriate selection, training, and continuous development are also discussed.

Leader’s paradox mindset, organisational change capability, and performance: a multi-level analysis

PurposeThis study aims to propose a multi-level (bottom-up) analysis to build an organizational change capability (OCC) development model by integrating paradox and social cognitive theories. Using these theories, OCC (Level 2) is influenced by the leader’s paradox mindset (Level 1) and collective PsyCap (Level 2). The study also examined the moderating effect of magnitude to change on the effect of leader’s paradox mindset on OCC.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed hypotheses were tested empirically using data from 327 respondents and 48 work teams from 21 leading private higher education institutions in Indonesia. To analyze the data, a multi-level analysis was conducted with Mplus software.FindingsThe results showed that, in a cross-level relationship, leader’s paradox mindset had a positive effect on OCC, whereas OCC mediated the effect of leader’s paradox mindset on organizational change performance. On an organizational level, collective PsyCap affected OCC, and OCC significantly mediated the relationship between collective PsyCap and organizational change performance. Moreover, the authors found a moderating effect of magnitude on change of leader’s paradox mindset to OCC.Originality/valueThis study used a multi-level analysis to evaluate the mechanisms of influence of leader’s paradox mindset (bottom-up) on OCC and the moderation effect of magnitude to change in an Indonesian context.

Paradox mindset as an equalizer: A moderated mediated perspective on workplace ostracism.

Incorporating the conservation of resources theory as a comprehensive framework, this study investigates a cohesive conceptual model analyzing the impact of workplace ostracism on employees' innovative work behavior (IWB). The investigation further delves into the mediating influence of perceived control and the moderating roles of paradox mindset and support for innovation. Data collection employed a survey approach involving three-time lags through questionnaires administered to 513 employees within Pakistan's public sector organizations. The hypothesized relationships were evaluated using conditional process modeling. Our research sheds light on how perceived control mitigates the negative impact of ostracism. The paradox mindset is identified as a key moderator influencing cognitive resources and navigating ostracism. Support for innovation enhances the link between perceived control and innovative work behavior. In addition, limitations, future research directions, and implications of our findings for fostering creative workplaces are also discussed.

Impact of analytical alignment on a paradox mindset and resilience

PurposeIn a fast-paced and hypercompetitive environment, organizational members are awash with paradoxes where they are forced to accomplish opposing goals simultaneously (“both/and”) instead of choosing one over the other (“either/or”). The literature has acknowledged paradox as a common type of contradiction in managing information and information technology (IT), but few studies have investigated how individuals can leverage paradoxical tensions. Drawing upon paradox theory, this study develops a research model that embodies a “both/and” paradigm in paradoxical tensions via analytical alignment, a paradox mindset and resilience under environmental dynamism.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the research model using hierarchical regression analysis with 308 analytics experts.FindingsEmpirical results find that the alignment of analytical technology and data-driven culture (AT-2DC) has a positive effect on a paradox mindset. Results also show that a paradox mindset has a positive influence on resilience. AT-2DC alignment also mediates the relationship between paradox mindset and resilience. In addition, AT-2DC alignment is more critical to a paradox mindset under a high level of environmental dynamism.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on how individuals can leverage paradoxical tensions with a “both/and” perspective and stay resilient when managing opposing demands and changes.

Employee acceptance of digital transformation strategies: A paradox perspective

AbstractDigital transformation (DT) strategies often aim at innovating an organization's business models (BMs) and developing digital innovations. However, most of the DT strategies fail or result only in incremental innovation. Research predominantly identified critical management capabilities for DT success, neglecting the role of employees, although employee support is vital for the successful implementation of DT strategies. We conceptualize employee acceptance of DT strategies and draw on paradox theory and organizational change literature to shed light on the antecedents of employee acceptance. Using survey‐based data from an incumbent introducing a DT strategy, we find empirical support that employees with a paradox mindset are likely to accept the DT strategy regardless of the expected scope of change, while a high scope of expected changes weakens the effect of a positive attitude toward change on acceptance. The findings contribute to understanding the micro‐level aspects of DT and extend research emphasizing top‐down management approaches in DT with an employee perspective. This study extends previous findings in innovation management that predominantly provide evidence on the acceptance of specific digital technologies and offer insights into the antecedents of DT strategy acceptance. We offer managers insights into how employees perceive DT strategies, which can help to leverage the potential of digital innovation.

An augmentation for innovation: psycho-Tech innovative work behavior model through an intellectual risk-taking pathway

Organizations require a dynamic and variant work environment to cope with the ever-changing high-tech global challenges, acute competition, and psychological issues. In addition, the covid-19 pandemic has caused devastation across the world. Lockdowns and government measures to restrict the spread of Covid-19 have far-reaching effects on the health and education sectors. Employees in the health and education sectors were surprised by the sudden crisis, which undermined conventional working procedures. Therefore, this study addresses two global issues: high-tech global challenges and covid-19 devastating effects on the health and education sectors. In the context of self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior, the psychological factors (e.g., psychological empowerment, Grit, paradox mindset, and harmonious Passion) and technological factors (for instance, Information and digital handling skills, Communication and collaboration skills and problem-solving skills) have been explored to augment the individual’s innovative work behavior through a novel intellectual risk-taking pathway. Consequently, data comprising1611 responses collected through cross-sectional two-time lag from health and education sectors as well as multisource data obtained from their immediate seniors, reduce biases and provide practitioners and policymakers a new ‘psycho-tech innovative work behavior model with the help of intellectual risk-taking pathway’, which ultimately addresses the high tech global challenges and mitigates the effects of pandemics like Covid-19 and Omicron.

Privacy concerns versus personalisation benefits in social robot acceptance by employees: A paradox theory — Contingency perspective

Acceptance of automation has been a challenge for over a century now. There are several success stories but there are also many failures. Studies exploring robots also go back many decades. Recent technological developments made science fiction movies a reality and we started seeing social robots emerging. This study explored acceptance of social robots by developing an argument that incorporates an individual-level, paradoxical nature of privacy and personalisation into the existing technology acceptance theory. The study accomplished its goals by focusing on employees working in care-providing organisations. The results indicated that both privacy concerns and service personalisation benefits independently and interdependently predict intention to use social robots at work. We also found that an employee's intention to use a social robot is highly dependent on her paradox mindset on both personalisation benefits and privacy concerns.

Coping with paradoxical demands: the dual position of deans in French business schools

ABSTRACT Recent studies have highlighted the major challenges faced by managers in the higher education sector and shown the contradictory demands which foster paradoxical tensions. Previous works have also underlined some specific tensions and rigidities that business school deans regularly face in their role. Yet, few studies have empirically explored which paradoxical tensions deans face and how they cope with them. Our paper addresses this gap. Using a qualitative study, we explore the simultaneous and interrelated contradictions faced by deans in French business schools and address how they manage the tensions related to these conflictual and complicated situations. Our work reveals five main tensions that deans have to face and two individual categories of responses to these tensions. It underlines two types of cognitive mindsets (paradox mindset and dilemma mindset) adopted by deans to deal with paradoxical tensions and highlights how deans have become academic entrepreneurs with hybrid profiles in a paradoxical system.

Paradoxical Leadership Behavior and Employee Creative Deviance: The Role of Paradox Mindset and Leader–Member Exchange

Paradoxical Leadership Behavior and Employee Creative Deviance: The Role of Paradox Mindset and Leader–Member Exchange