Tackling the Complexity of Managing Paradoxes

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Type and Duration

FFF-Förderprojekt, May 2018 until August 2020 (finished)

Coordinator

Chair of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management

Main Research

Growth and Complexity

Field of Research

Enterprise

Description

Companies and organizations in general are facing an ever growing set of expectations from their different stakeholders. They are supposed to be efficient and profitable, they must be innovative and shape the future of their firm and the industry, and they shall make valuable contributions to the broader societies around them to only mention a few. All these demands can be mutually enforcing (for example if new technologies increase efficiency or when addressing a social issue triggers a new business opportunity). However, they are in part also competing for resources and attention so that one goal is often pursued at the expense of another. The academic literature frames the relationships between those different goals as paradoxical tensions and has come up with a variety of mechanisms and managerial approaches to deal with them. However, most research remains relatively fragmented in the sense that the mechanisms and approaches are described independently of one another without studying their interaction. This project applies a more integrative view on the systemic interplay of the different paradoxical tensions and management approaches. This shall ultimately advance the ability of organizations and their managers in Liechtenstein and the wider Lake Constance Region to better deal with the complexity and diversity of objectives and thus support their long-term success and survival.

Project results:

Reference to Liechtenstein

Die erfolgreichen Unternehmen und Organisationen im Fürstentum Liechtenstein sind aufgrund ihrer Positionierung einer Reihe von Spannungsfeldern ausgesetzt. Unternehmen müssen angesichts der hohen Standortkosten hocheffizient arbeiten und gleichzeitig ihre Innovationsführerschaft in den für das Land so wichtigen internationalen Märkten bewahren. Ein Teil der Forschung des Projektes erlaubte die Identifikation von Ansätzen hinsichtlich Führung, Kultur und Struktur, um dieses Spannungsfeld erfolgreich zu bewältigen. Diese wurden auch bereits im Rahmen eines Workshops für ein liechtensteinisches Unternehmen in der Praxis angewendet. Neben erfolgreichen Unternehmen ist das Fürstentum Liechtenstein auch für seine philanthropischen Aktivitäten und seine gemeinnützigen Stiftungen bekannt. Die von uns erforschte Fragestellung, wie stiftungsfinanzierte non-profit Organisationen das Spannungsfeld aus sozialer und ökonomischer Orientierung überwinden und wirtschaftlich selbsttragend und damit unabhängig werden können, hat das Potential, hier ebenfalls wichtige Impulse zu liefern.

Keywords

Innovation, Ambidexterity, Paradox, Hybrid Organizations

Principal Investigator

Sponsor

  • Forschungsförderungsfonds der Universität Liechtenstein

Publications

  • Doblinger, C., Wales, W., & Zimmermann, A. (2022). Stemming the downturn: How ambidexterity and public policy influence firm performance stability during economic crises. European Management Journal, 40(2), 163-174. (ABDC_2022: B; ABS_2021: 2; VHB_3: B)

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  • Zimmermann, A., Hill, S., Birkinshaw, J., & Jaeckel, M. (2020). Complements or substitutes? A microfoundations perspective on the interplay between drivers of ambidexterity in SMEs. Long Range Planning (LRP), 53(6). (ABDC_2022: A; ABS_2021: 3; VHB_3: B)

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  • Ambos, T. C., Fuchs, S. H., & Zimmermann, A. (2020). Managing Interrelated Tensions in Headquarters-Subsidiary Relationships: The Case of a Multinational Hybrid Organization. Journal of International Business Studies, 51, 906-932. (ABDC_2022: A*; ABS_2021: 4*; VHB_3: A; FT_50_2016: yes)

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  • Boemelburg, R., Zimmermann, A., & Palmié, M. (2020). Learning paradox: Antecedents and mechanisms of paradox mindset development. Presented at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Virtual.

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  • Ambos, T., Fuchs, S., & Zimmermann, A. (2019). Managing Tensions in a Multinational Hybrid Organization: A New Perspective on Headquarters-Subsidiary Relationships. Presented at the 39th Annual International Conference of the Strategic Management Society, Minneapolis.

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  • Laamanen, T., Zimmermann, A., & Bian, D. (2019). Composition of Acquisition Sequences: The Effects of Different Types of Acquisition Patterns on Acquirer Performance. Presented at the 39th Annual International Conference of the Strategic Management Society, Minneapolis.

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  • Zimmermann, A., Hill, S., Birkinshaw, J., & Jäckel, M. (2018). Complements or Substitutes? Investigating the Interplay amongst Drivers of Ambidexterity in SMEs.. Presented at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Chicago, USA.

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  • Laamanen, T., Zimmermann, A., & Bian, D. (2018). The Interplay of Individual-Level, Group-Level, and Firm-Level Balancing Capabilities as Drivers of Ambidexterity. Presented at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Chicago, USA.

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