Multilevel analysis of ambidexterity and tagging of specialised projects in project-based information technology firms
22 Aug 2017-International Journal of Operations & Production Management (Emerald Publishing Limited)-Vol. 37, Iss: 9, pp 1185-1206
TL;DR: The study extends the concept of ambidexterity to the “within” project level and finds it relevant at the lowest level in the project-based structure.
Abstract: Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the expression of ambidexterity at the “between” projects level as well as the “within” project level in project-based information technology firms (PBITF). The research also provides a framework for the classification of specialised projects. This classification is essential to clarify the level of attention the project will receive with respect to the appropriation of resources and the requisite management bandwidth.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on a nine-month long field-based qualitative study and ensures a rigorous triangulation of the findings through an analysis of archival data and actual project artefacts.
Findings
The authors bring forth three critical implications for practice. First, strategizing ambidexterity at the level of “between” projects and “within” projects is heavily dependent on the interaction among distributed actors and partners. Second, routines and actions to deal with manpower constraints are completely different at these two levels. Lastly, the classification framework of specialised projects proposed here should enable firms to appropriately apportion resources to engagements that are strategic in nature.
Originality/value
The study extends the concept of ambidexterity to the “within” project level and finds it relevant at the lowest level in the project-based structure. Also, the framework for the classification of specialised projects that is provided will assist decision makers in PBIT firms to decide the organisational response to such projects.
Citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the ability of project portfolio management practices to support the pursuit of ambidexterity at the project level through engagement with specific dimensions and mechanisms.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to assess the ability of project portfolio management practices to support the pursuit of ambidexterity at the project level through engagement with specific dimensions and mechanisms. The focus is on examining the operating/business model and challenges that are imposed on the firms, but deemed resolvable through the simultaneous pursuit of multiple projects emphasizing contradictory strategic goals. Data are obtained from multiple exploratory interviews of senior executives involved in project-level activities who were drawn from 12 case organizations in the Middle East. The study finds evidence of four forms of ambidexterity dimensions and mechanisms. Analysis undertaken against operating/business model and challenges of these dimensions and mechanisms of ambidexterity suggests that they are not only inter-related, but do so at various organizational levels.
19 citations
Cites background or result from "Multilevel analysis of ambidexterit..."
...This point is reiterated in his later works (see Turner et al. 2013a; Turner et al. 2016a) and the works of Liu et al. (2012) and Sohani and Singh (2017) who assert that while there is substantial research is available on organisation-level ambidexterity, insight on project-level ambidexterity is…...
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...From our understanding of the literature, PPM is critical to successfully achieving ambidexterity....
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...2013a, 2013b, 2014, 2015, 2016a,b; 2018) and the wider operations management discipline (Kortmann et al. 2014; Sohani and Singh 2017)....
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...Sohani and Singh (2017) examined the processes and routines utilised to operationalise ambidexterity finding amongst others that the nature of the interaction among various individual actors across different functional units (including at the level of the portfolio) of the organisation played a…...
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...…of scholars in the field of project management (Aubry and Lièvre 2010; Leybourne and Sainter 2012; Eriksson 2013; Turner and Lee-Kelley 2013; Turner et al. 2013a, 2013b, 2014, 2015, 2016a,b; 2018) and the wider operations management discipline (Kortmann et al. 2014; Sohani and Singh 2017)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the impact of exploitative and explorative QM practices on performance is investigated in a sample of German pharmaceutical firms and the results show that the impact is dependent on the competitive strategy pursued.
Abstract: This study aims to advance understanding about quality management (QM) practices by clarifying how competitive strategy conditions the impacts of exploitative and explorative QM practices on performance.,The authors apply partial least squares structural equation modeling to data from a sample of German pharmaceutical firms.,The results show that the impact of exploitative and explorative QM practices on firm performance is contingent on the competitive strategy pursued. Explorative QM practices are significantly more relevant for firms following a differentiation strategy, whereas exploitative QM practices are significantly more relevant for cost leaders. Furthermore, for strategically ambidextrous firms that follow simultaneously a cost and a differentiation focus, the interplay of the two QM practices matters.,This paper contributes to understanding which kind of management practices, exploitative and/or explorative, have greater performance impacts under certain competitive strategy conditions.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the antecedents that facilitate three prevalent types of ambidexterity in project-based organizations in China are identified through an exploratory multiple-case study.
Abstract: Through an exploratory multiple-case study in the context of project-based organizations in China, this study aims to identify the antecedents that facilitate three prevalent types of ambidexterity...
8 citations
Cites background from "Multilevel analysis of ambidexterit..."
...Sohani and Singh (2017) examine ambidexterity in the “within” project level and the “between” projects level; Lee- Kelley (2018) applies the ambidexterity theory in the development of project management staff....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the labour supply chain of Indian technical immigrants in the United States and reveal a latent phenomenon of broker-induced precarity that results from the labor supply chain and explore how aspirational jobs are becoming precarious ones.
Abstract: The primary purpose of this article is to investigate the labour supply chain of Indian technical immigrants in the United States. The two important findings that emerge are as follows: First, the study unearths a latent phenomenon of broker‐induced precarity that results from the labour supply chain and explores how aspirational jobs are becoming precarious ones. Second, the study provides a foundation for devising policies and interventions to make the process of the labour supply chain less detrimental to the Indian technical immigrants. This article draws on a seven‐month‐long field‐based qualitative study and ensures a meticulous triangulation of the findings through an analysis of archival data and actual artefacts related to manpower movement across the labour supply chain.
7 citations
Cites background from "Multilevel analysis of ambidexterit..."
...Instead of starting with the existing constructs and their interlinkages, we began with an area of investigation and allowed constructs and their interrelationships to emerge there from (Sohani and Singh, 2017; Strauss and Juliet, 1990)....
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TL;DR: Results show that technology has a dual nature where it enhances as well as diminish the engagement of drivers, and the identity of a professional and the flexibility offered by this app-based work fosters engagement for drivers aswell as customers.
Abstract: With the advent of mobile application-based aggregator models, engaging stakeholders has become more challenging as the lines separating external and internal customer are blurred. This study deciphers the points of engagement and points of disengagement for the major stakeholders viz. drivers and commuters for the cab aggregators in India. Through semi-structured interviews of cab drivers and triangulation through media reports, interviews of customers, bank officers and regional transport officers, the authors elicit what enhances customer and driver engagement and what reduces it. Results show that technology has a dual nature where it enhances as well as diminish the engagement of drivers. The identity of a professional and the flexibility offered by this app-based work fosters engagement for drivers as well as customers. Changes in organizational and government norms are a source of disengagement. The theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.
4 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the effectiveness of producing complex high value products, systems, networks, capital goods, and constructs in a project-based organization (PBO), as compared with a more traditional functional matrix organisation.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors unbundle the structure of inertia into two distinct categories: resource rigidity (failure to change resource investment patterns and routine rigidity) and failure to change organizational p...
Abstract: I work to unbundle the structure of inertia into two distinct categories: resource rigidity (failure to change resource investment patterns) and routine rigidity (failure to change organizational p...
1,116 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss how the interior processes of a project are influenced by its historical and organizational context and suggest that future research on project management needs to extend its temporal scope, analyzing how project practices evolve through history over prior, present, and future projects, as well as its organizational scope.
1,019 citations
Book•
03 Apr 2002TL;DR: In this paper, the nature of the project as a temporary organization is analyzed from the perspective of organizational theory, and it is suggested that classical definitions of projects are not wrong, just incomplete.
Abstract: The nature of the project as a temporary organization is analysed from the perspective of organizational theory. This leads to a reassessment of the definition of a project. It is suggested that classical definitions of projects are not wrong, just incomplete. The project as a temporary organization is viewed here as a production function, as an agency for assigning resources to the management of change within the functional organization, and as an agency for managing uncertainty. The role of the project manager is also considered. The project manager is chief executive of the temporary organization, and thus their roles in objective setting and motivating team members are emphasized over their role in planning and executing work. Second, as manager of the agency, they are the agent of the owner (principal) and so a second hierarchy of management and control must be put in place to monitor their performance. These agency costs add to the cost of the project, but may also explain why professional recognition is so important to project managers.
900 citations
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Abstract: This research is a longitudinal study of 10 newly-appointed top managers; the research focuses on understanding (1) their business vision and strategy and (2) how they use formal control systems as levers of strategic change and renewal. The results reported in the paper are based on data collected over a period of approximately 18 months following the appointment of each new manager. Analysis of the data suggests that control systems are important levers used to manage both evolutionary and revolutionary change.
In situations of strategic change, control systems are used by top managers to formalize beliefs, set boundaries on acceptable strategic behavior, define and measure critical performance variables, and motivate debate and discussion about strategic uncertainties. In addition to traditional measuring and monitoring functions, control systems are used by top managers to overcome organizational inertia; communicate new strategic agendas; establish implementation timetables and targets; and ensure continuing attention to new strategic initiatives.
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