Simultaneous Pursuit Research Articles

Ex-ante impact of on-farm diversification and forward integration on agricultural value chain resilience: A system dynamics approach

ObjectiveThis paper examines the ex-ante impacts of on-farm diversification and forward integration strategies on agricultural value chain resilience, with an empirical focus on Ghana’s cocoa value chain. MethodSystem dynamics modelling was used to explore five scenarios involving variable-input on-farm diversification pursued by cocoa farmers in Ghana and the simultaneous adoption of forward integration strategies by Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Results and ConclusionsAn adaptive strategy involving the simultaneous pursuit of variable-input on-farm diversification and a cooperative forward integration strategy by both Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire was found to result in the highest level of resilience. Under such an adaptive strategy, in-country processors will be the most impacted when the level of safety stocks are below 25% of the average stock level during the period of losses in raw material production. SignificanceThe findings suggest that a policy direction that supports on-farm diversification and in-country processing enhances the aggregate resilience of the cocoa value chain, irrespective of the forward integration strategy adopted by Cote d’Ivoire.

Performance implications of combining creative and imitative innovation strategies

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the performance effects of pure innovation strategies (creative and imitative) versus the combination of the two innovation strategies (combination innovation strategy) and to determine whether implementing the combination innovation strategy produces an incremental performance benefit over the pure innovation strategies.Design/methodology/approachWe used archival data from the Korea Innovation Survey (KIS) completed by a large sample of South Korea manufacturing firms and some financial data provided by the South Korea Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI). We used hierarchical multiple regression analysis to analyze the data from 486 firms.FindingsThe findings indicated that firms implementing any of the three innovation strategies of creative innovation, imitative innovation and combination innovation outperforms noninnovators. Results also show that while firms implementing the combination innovation strategy perform better than those implementing imitative innovation strategies, they do not significantly differ in performance from firms implementing the creative innovation strategy. Moreover, we find no performance difference between creative innovation and imitative innovation strategies.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the importance of combination innovation strategies for manufacturing firms that rely on imitative innovation strategies to gain competitive advantage in the market. However, it demonstrates that firms that are successful in using creative innovation strategies must use their resources in exploiting that advantage.Originality/valueAlthough extant studies have demonstrated the importance of both creative innovation and imitative innovation strategies in enhancing performance, it is not clear whether implementing both strategies at the same time has incremental value for firms. This study focusses on empirically examining the performance implications of creative innovation and imitative innovation strategies, and whether the pursuit of a combination innovation strategy (simultaneous pursuit of both innovation strategies) provides any incremental benefit is unique.

Linking joint value creation to the interplay of competition and cooperation: A fuzzy set approach

The aim of this paper is to explore the link between joint value creation and the varying nature of simultaneity. Joint value creation is a central concept in cooperative strategies and more broadly in the strategic management field. When cooperating with competitors firms have value creation intent, but face conflicting logics arising from the simultaneous pursuit of cooperation and competition. This study adopts a two continua approach to analyze coopetition at both the department level and the organizational level.We explore the conjunctural causality based on two multipartner alliances in the pharmaceutical industry. The fsQCA allows detecting multiple causal paths between different intensities of cooperation and competition at both the department and the firm levels (conditions) to joint value creation (outcome). A key contribution of this paper is the conceptualization and empirical demonstration of the relation between the joint value creation and the coopetition intensity. Different types of coopetition engagements generate different outcomes in terms of joint value creation. The results show that high intensity of cooperation combined with high intensity of competition is significant for joint value creation. Unbalanced intensities of both elements, as well as low coopetition intensity, do not lead to joint value creation.

Interplay between coopetition and institutions: How Japanese airlines enhance bargaining power

Organisations engage in coopetition, the simultaneous pursuit of competitive and cooperative activities, because of various environmental factors. The concept of coopetition continues to gain attention as global competition increases. However, the analysis of the influence of institutional elements on coopetition has been limited. This study bridges this gap. We use a case study to examine the coopetition framework among competing Japanese airlines formed to negotiate with major institutional elements: a monopolistic supplier and a government regulatory authority. First, this study identifies the mechanisms through which institutions promote coopetition. The findings point to coercive isomorphism and external hazard as influential institutional mechanisms; through coercive isomorphism, the shared benefits increase, and the cost of cooperation is reduced; through external hazard, organisations are encouraged to unite, and coopetition is promoted. Second, the study identifies the mechanisms through which organisations in coopetition enhance their bargaining power. Specifically, we find two sources of enhanced bargaining power: intensified pressure as a larger group and improved persuasiveness with consensus. These findings have important implications for the theory and management of co-operative organisations, such as for the interaction between co-operatives and institutions, since the coopetition framework we analysed has characteristics close to the values and principles of co-operatives.

Chasing rainbows? A recognition-based critique of Primark’s precarious commitment to inclusion

This paper develops a dialectical critique of organizational commitments to inclusion showing how, as rhetorical gestures, such commitments are undermined by practices of over-inclusion and exclusion. It argues that these practices are not distinct but interrelated aspects of the instrumental ways in which organizations respond to encounters with difference, limiting the latter’s capacity to open up new ways of being, and of organizing. This theoretical critique is illustrated with reference to two examples of Primark’s recent treatment of LGBTQ employees and communities. The first, the company’s recent introduction of a range of Pride-themed clothes and accessories, illustrates how inclusion is pursued through an appropriating co-optation or ‘over inclusion’ of difference. The second, the company’s treatment of a transgender employee and subsequent tribunal evidence, indicates how Primark’s espoused commitment to inclusion is also undermined by an exclusionary negation. The discussion draws on insights from Judith Butler’s writing on recognition and precarity to develop a recognition-based critique of how the simultaneous pursuit of twin strategies of over-inclusion and exclusion perpetuates a reification of difference, examining the consequences of this for those involved and for the critical evaluation of corporate commitments to inclusion more widely.

Sustainability Policy Objectives, Centralized Decision Making, and Efficiency in Public Procurement Processes in U.S. Local Governments

Some U.S. local governments are leveraging public procurement to meet their sustainability goals. However, does the simultaneous pursuit of multiple sustainability objectives potentially slow down the speed of procurement processes? We suggest that the simultaneous pursuit of multiple sustainability objectives through procurement is related to decision making speed. Additionally, we argue that centralized decision-making structures might moderate this relationship. Drawing on a representative sample of more than 200 U.S. local governments, we demonstrate that for low-cost purchases, as the number of policy objectives increases, so too does the average length of time for approval. We also find evidence of an interactive relationship between decision-making structures and the number of existing sustainability policies pursued simultaneously. For routine low-cost and routine high-cost purchases, we find evidence that as the centralization of procurement decision making increases, the marginal effect of purchasing complexity on approval times decreases. These findings offer important evidence about how pursuing multiple sustainability objectives affect decision-making efficiency and how decision-making structures might facilitate U.S local governments’ integration of sustainability objectives into their existing internal processes.

What do multiple objectives really mean for performance? Empirical evidence from the French manufacturing sector

AbstractResearch SummaryWe explore the performance consequences of the simultaneous pursuit of multiple objectives in organizations. Taking advantage of a unique dataset covering both the objectives pursued and performance outcomes, we test the hypothesis that is the cornerstone of multiple objectives theory: performance on a given metric increases when it is pursued as an objective but decreases with the number of other objectives pursued simultaneously. We find overall support for this hypothesis, which holds for most, but not all, objectives. We further unpack the link between multiplicity of objectives and performance, investigating the moderating effects of organization design choices. This study suggests that multiple objectives impose a cost on organizations, but also provide a benefit of alleviating tradeoffs in achieving higher performance in multiple dimensions.Managerial SummaryMost organizations simultaneously follow multiple goals, rather than focus on a single, well‐defined objective. For example, manufacturing firms often concurrently strive to decrease costs, increase revenues, and enhance margins. We study the consequences of such pursuit for firm performance. We show that explicitly setting objectives plays an important role in driving performance improvements. We also show that performance on any given dimension decreases with the number of other, simultaneously, followed goals. This regularity holds across different types of organizations, from simple to complex. Finally, we show that setting goals in multiple dimensions can play a beneficial role in forcing firms to actively manage tradeoffs inherent in their strategic choices. Our findings point to how managers could balance the costs and benefits of multiple objectives.

Integrating Multiple Sustainability Objectives Through Deliberation: The Case of Degrowth Businesses

In times of pressing global sustainability challenges, companies need to find ways to integrate economic, environmental and social aspects into all their business activities in order to address all sustainability dimensions simultaneously without emphasizing one dimension over another. Degrowth businesses are considered to combine multiple sustainability objectives to an intense degree, while implementing elements of deliberative democracy by enabling and empowering affected people to participate in and actively shape the value creation process. Although recent hybrid organizing research points to the potential of deliberative democracy to support the integration of multiple (contradicting) objectives in organizational contexts, we lack research into the underlying processes and mechanisms. This paper addresses this research gap by investigating how degrowth businesses manage the integration of multiple sustainability objectives. Based on a qualitative-inductive analysis of in-depth interview data, a dynamic model of deliberative objective integration is developed elucidating the dynamic and iterative process of objective integration as a process of steady readjustment in order to achieve stability in the sense that all objectives are achieved simultaneously over time. This model shows that deliberation in organizational contexts represents an effective mechanism that fosters a high degree of objective integration and hence ensures the successful simultaneous pursuit of multiple sustainability objectives over time.

Do good things come in pairs? How personality traits help explain individuals' simultaneous pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and financially responsible behavior

AbstractBoth a healthy lifestyle and financially responsible behavior contribute to individual wellbeing and benefit society. Motivated by the fact that both types of behavior involve short‐term sacrifices in exchange for uncertain long‐term benefits and require self‐control, we examine individuals' consistency in behavior across the health and financial domains. Using a large‐scale data set of 3,752 employed Australians, we find that the majority of individuals behave in a consistently beneficial or detrimental way across both domains. This behavioral consistency relates to fundamental life outcomes, including physical and mental health, financial prosperity, and life satisfaction. In a new contribution to the literature, we show how personality traits—Locus of Control, the Big Five, Achievement Motivation—have a meaningful role in explaining the simultaneous pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and financially responsible behavior. These behavioral insights can guide policymakers in developing more effective strategies to steer individuals towards beneficial health and financial outcomes.

Ambidexterity in family firms: The interplay between family influences within and beyond the executive suite

Ambidexterity commonly refers to the simultaneous pursuit of exploration and exploitation and may be particularly beneficial for family firms. In this study, we investigate how family CEO and top management team (TMT) family affiliation influence ambidexterity. In addition, we consider the role of family ownership dispersion and how it impacts the ability of the top managers of family firms to foster ambidexterity. We test our hypotheses on a unique dataset combining archival and multiple respondent survey data of 167 German family firms. Our results shed light on conditions under which family-led leadership can pursue ambidexterity.

Superpixel based compression of hyperspectral image with modified dictionary and sparse representation

ABSTRACT Sparse representation provides an efficient way for the compression of hyperspectral images in the literature. In this work, an improved version of the Spectral-Spatial Adaptive Sparse Representation (SSASR), Modified SSASR (MSSASR), is proposed for hyperspectral image compression. In the first step of the proposed method, superpixel maps are generated for adaptive spatio-spectral representation. Then, the best possible dictionary is computed for the representation of the data. Afterwards, sparse coefficients are determined depending on the dictionary by Simultaneous Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (SOMP) method. In the final step, the dictionary and sparse coefficients are encoded by quantization and entropy encoding. This paper has the following novelties: modified dictionary learning step, new ordering scheme and Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM) usage. Owing to modified dictionary learning, the sparse coefficients can be represented more compact than traditional SSASR. By using of new ordering scheme, it is not needed to send the superpixel map as side information. Moreover, DCPM usage lowers the magnitudes of sparse coefficients. Thanks to these modifications, the proposed method achieves an important improvement on compression performance. In the experimental results, the proposed method is compared with PCA+JPEG2000, DWT+JPEG2000, 3D-SPECK, 3D-TARP and SSASR methods on Indian Pines, Washington DC Mall, Jasper Ridge and Moffett Field scenes. The evaluation is carried out not only using distance and similarity metrics, namely, signal-to-noise ratio, mean spectral angle and mean spectral correlation metrics but also computation times. Additionally, reconstruction quality in anomaly regions is also used for comparison. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the other compression methods in terms of quality metrics and anomaly preserving performance.

Building an ambidextrous organization: a maturity model for organizational ambidexterity

Organizational ambidexterity (OA) is an essential capability for organizations in turbulent environments, as it facilitates the simultaneous pursuit of exploitation and exploration. Over the last years, knowledge on OA has continuously matured, covering outcomes, moderators, and types of OA. However, little is known about how to build an ambidextrous organization in terms of what capabilities are needed and how they can be developed. To address this gap, we developed an organizational ambidexterity maturity model (OAMM) that assists organizations in becoming ambidextrous based on actionable practices (APs) structured according to five capability areas. In developing the OAMM, we conducted a structured literature review to compile APs and used card sorting to assign APs to maturity stages. We evaluated the OAMM based on literature-backed design objectives and discussions with practitioners. We also conducted an initial empirical validation of the APs’ assignment to maturity stages. The OAMM extends the descriptive and prescriptive knowledge on OA by taking a holistic view on OA, by shedding light on the interrelation of different OA types, and by enabling the assessment of an organization’s as-is and to-be OA maturity based on implemented APs.

Microfoundations of Organizational Ambidexterity: An Analysis of the Design, Actors, and Decisions at a Multinational Biotech Firm

Organizational ambidexterity—the simultaneous pursuit of exploration and exploitation—has emerged as a powerful concept in explaining long-term organizational success and survival. Yet, little attention has been paid to the microfoundations and specific managerial actions that facilitate the implementation and operation of an ambidextrous strategy. This article explores how a market leading biotechnology firm resolves challenges associated with the simultaneous pursuit of operational efficiency and innovation. Findings provide new insights into the multifaceted aspects of organizational ambidexterity and illustrate how companies dynamically manage the contradictory demands of exploration and exploitation at different organizational levels, and the individual behaviors and decisions that enable organizational ambidexterity.

Do Good Things Come in Pairs? How Personality Traits Help Explain Individuals’ Simultaneous Pursuit of a Healthy Lifestyle and Financially Responsible Behavior

Both a healthy lifestyle and financially responsible behavior contribute to individual wellbeing and benefit society. Motivated by the fact that both types of behavior involve short-term sacrifices in exchange for uncertain long-term benefits and require self-control, we examine individuals’ consistency in behavior across the health and financial domains. Using a large-scale dataset of 3,752 employed Australians, we find that the majority of individuals behave in a consistently beneficial or detrimental way across both domains. This behavioral consistency relates to fundamental life outcomes, including physical and mental health, financial prosperity, and life satisfaction. In a new contribution to the literature, we show how personality traits – Locus of Control, the Big Five, Achievement Motivation – have a meaningful role in explaining the simultaneous pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and financially responsible behavior. These behavioral insights can guide policymakers in developing more effective strategies to steer individuals towards beneficial health and financial outcomes.

Simultaneous fast joint sparse recovery for WSN and IoT applications

Joint sparse recovery aims to recover a number of sparse signals having joint sparsity from multiple compressed measurements. Such a problem is finding increasing applications in wireless sensor networks (WSN) and Internet of Things (IoT) where multiple sensors collect measurements. However, existing algorithms lack both reconstruction accuracy and speed at the same time. In this study, the authors propose a joint sparse recovery algorithm, simultaneous fast matching pursuit (SFMP), which exploits some of the concepts developed for the fast matching pursuit (FMP) algorithm. SFMP achieves significant improvement in reconstruction time and speed compared to other related existing algorithms. In contrast to related algorithms, support selection is performed efficiently as the number of selected atoms is adapted from an iteration to another. Furthermore, signal estimation is performed avoiding large matrix inversion as in related algorithms. Moreover, simultaneously pruning the estimated signals, results in removing incorrectly selected ones. Due to the efficient selection strategy and the simultaneous pruning operation, the algorithm shows significant improvement in reconstruction accuracy from noisy measurements. SFMP achieves significant speed improvement over simultaneous orthogonal matching pursuit, and significant accuracy improvement over simultaneous compressive sampling matching pursuit, requiring a much smaller number of measurements.

Creating competitive advantages: Interactions between ambidextrous diversification strategy and contextual factors from a dynamic capability perspective

Is competitive advantage sustainable? We argue that firms can create temporary and consecutive competitive advantages by pursuing an ambidextrous strategy. This depends on the capability of firms to achieve simultaneous related and unrelated diversification during periods of turbulence. However, the manner by which firms exploit and develop resources and capabilities remain a major gap in the empirical literature on the diversification–competitive outcomes relationship. Adopting a dynamic capability perspective, we examine why and how the simultaneous pursuit of ambidextrous diversification creates temporary and consecutive competitive advantages. Employing longitudinal data for 2010–2015 to test our hypotheses, we find that an ambidextrous strategy has a curvilinear influence on advantages creation in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. These effects vary by interactions with R&D investments and firm-specific uncertainty. Finally, the impact of the three-way interactions among firm-specific uncertainty, ambidextrous diversification, and R&D investments on efficiency takes the form of a U-shaped curve.

Enhancing Sustainability and Resilience through Multi-Level Infrastructure Planning.

Resilient planning demands not only resilient actions, but also resilient implementation, which promotes adaptive capacity for the attainment of the planned objectives. This requires, in the case of multi-level infrastructure systems, the simultaneous pursuit of bottom-up infrastructure planning for the promotion of adaptive capacity, and of top-down approaches for the achievement of global objectives and the reduction of structural vulnerabilities and imbalances. Though several authors have pointed out the need to balance bottom-up flexibility with top-down hierarchical control for better plan implementation, very few methods have yet been developed with this aim, least of all with a multi-objective perspective. This work addressed this lack by including, for the first time, the mitigation of urban vulnerability, the improvement of road network condition, and the minimization of the economic cost as objectives in a resilient planning process in which both actions and their implementation are planned for a controlled, sustainable development. Building on Urban planning support system (UPSS), a previously developed planning tool, the improved planning support system affords a planning alternative over the Spanish road network, with the best multi-objective balance between optimization, risk, and opportunity. The planning process then formalizes local adaptive capacity as the capacity to vary the selected planning alternative within certain limits, and global risk control as the duties that should be achieved in exchange. Finally, by means of multi-objective optimization, the method reveals the multi-objective trade-offs between local opportunity, global risk, and rights and duties at local scale, thus providing deeper understanding for better informed decision-making.

Coopetition strategies of start-ups: evidence from a Spanish regional innovation system

Start-ups operate in a highly competitive environment. In this context, collaboration between competitors has been found to help companies reduce risk and share costs, resources and expertise. Despite its relevance, coopetition (i.e., the simultaneous pursuit of cooperation and competition) in entrepreneurship has attracted little scholarly attention. This study aims at filling this theoretical and empirical gap by exploring the impact of coopetition on the performance of start-ups. Drawing on the existing literature, this study also considers innovation and knowledge sharing as key factors shaping business performance. The analysis is based on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) because the focus is on the combined effect of the determinants of firm performance rather than their net effects. This approach enables us to identify different start-up strategies. The results indicate that coopetition and innovation are key factors. However, knowledge sharing is only relevant when coopeting start-ups either have solid market experience or are highly innovative.

The Keynesian-Monetarist Competition over Public Credibility

Mainstream economic theories went through an intellectual crisis during the recession that hit Western economies in the late 1970s. Academic debates extended to public media and mass culture, starting with the TV shows led by John Kenneth Galbraith ( The Age of Uncertainty) and Milton Friedman (Free to Choose). Such a translation of ideas and language had a spillover effect on the academic community. The simultaneous pursuit of honors in distinct fields raises the question of the role of economists in the public debate. By shifting the focal point beyond the notions of expertise and public opinion, this article explores the mechanisms of the conquest of the public sphere by experts and intellectuals, and its consequences on the field of economics.

Making Milk and Money: Contemporary Mothers' Orientations to Breastfeeding and Work

In most Western industrial nations, gains have been made in women's educational and occupational opportunities as part of a larger gender revolution. At the same time, contemporary mothering expectations have expanded and intensified, especially the renewed focus on breastfeeding as the “optimal” choice for infant feeding. How do women perceive the simultaneous pursuit of these activities? Prior scholarship has identified tensions in cultural models of breastfeeding as well as in women's subjective experiences, emphasizing how breastfeeding is shaped and encountered through sociocultural context, especially ideologies that position work and mothering as incompatible. Building on this, I examine how the current generation of working mothers view working and breastfeeding. Through in‐depth interviews with 32 U.S. women, I show how women espouse distinctly different orientations to breastfeeding: instrumentalist, quasi‐maternalist, and pragmatist. I argue that these different orientations both reflect and reframe existing cultural models and discourses about contemporary women's relationships to work, mothering, and breastfeeding.