Combining Structural and Sequential Ambidexterity: A Configurational Approach Using fsQCA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Structural and sequential ambidexterity are proved to be two prevalent approaches in managing tension between exploration and exploitation. Dominant studies have treated the two approaches as mutually exclusive but have provided less insight about their combination, and the organizational configurations that advance such combination, which is a major meaningful gap explored in the current study. This study aims to explore the configurations of organization design choices to combine structural and sequential approaches from a holistic perspective. We apply fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze the empirical data collected from 102 firms in China. The results show that firms attain high ambidexterity with both separated and blended configurations. Blended ones demonstrate that the structural and sequential approaches can be combined in a way that one approach dominates and the other subordinates. Organizational design mechanisms regarding the configurations for combining structural and sequential approaches are concluded as multielements (complements and substitutes) and multilevels (fit and interaction). These findings are also interpreted through the Chinese ‘Yin-Yang’ framework, which introduces ‘Yin-Yang balancing’ into the ambidexterity literature. 摘要 结构双元与时序双元被证明是缓解组织的探索和利用战略之间冲突关系的两种常见方法。现有的研究认为这两种方法是相互排斥的，对两者的组合以及促进这种组合的组织构型缺乏关注。本研究旨在从整体的角度探索组织设计选择的构型，以实现结构与时序双元的有机联结。本研究运用模糊集定性比较分析(fsQCA)的方法，对102家中国企业的实证数据进行了分析。结果表明，企业可以通过分离构型或混合构型取得高组织双元。其中，混合构型意味着，结构双元和时序双元以一种方法占主导地位、另一种方法为从属的方式进行组合。关于联结结构双元与时序双元构型的组织设计机制被总结为多要素(补充和替代)和多层次(匹配和交互)。最后，本研究尝试将“阴阳平衡”引入双元研究，用中国的“阴阳”框架来解释研究发现。