TMT leadership ambidexterity: balancing exploration and exploitation behaviors for innovation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor T. Lawrence ◽  
Leslie Tworoger ◽  
Cynthia P. Ruppel ◽  
Yuliya Yurova
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Leadership Behaviors ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Team Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Direct Reports ◽  
Balanced Leadership ◽  
Innovative Company ◽  
Effective Performance ◽  
High Degree

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore balanced leadership behaviors, which exhibit ambidexterity, in a top management team (TMT) recognized for innovation and operational success.Design/methodology/approachAn action research case study was conducted in a single global organization in an industry requiring high levels of innovation. Operationalized as a balance of exploratory and exploitative behaviors, leadership ambidexterity was measured using the strategic-operational dimension of the Leadership Versatility Index (LVI©) which when completed included 67 assessments provided by TMT peers, supervisors and direct reports. Using quantitative and qualitative data, we examined the behaviors of six executives and the degree of flexibility they exhibit when switching opposing behaviors.FindingsThis study provides empirical evidence that TMT leaders of a highly innovative company strive to flexibly move between explorative and exploitative behaviors both as individual members and as an executive team. A high degree of exploitation–exploration versatility was also linked to the TMT effective performance.Practical implicationsFor organizational practitioners, the study offers a quantifiable measure of individual and team leadership ambidexterity. It can be used to raise awareness and suggest ambidextrous behaviors to TMT leaders and “high-management-potentials”.Originality/valueThis study measures leadership ambidexterity of individual executives and the TMT as a group using a quantitative instrument supported by 360-degree qualitative data. Access to both secondary and proprietary information allowed in depth examination of the TMT behaviors in an innovative firm, which was acquired at a premium and was recognized with multiple innovation awards.

Mobile games: players’ experiences with in-app purchases

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aina Ravoniarison ◽  
Cédric Benito
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Financial Risk ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Mobile Games ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeThis paper aims to offer a comprehensive perspective into Free-to-Play gamers’ attitudes, feelings toward and perceived value of in-app purchases (IAPs).Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a twofold qualitative methodology using an inductive approach: user-generated YouTube videos and gamers’ online reviews posted on Play stores.FindingsEight topics have emerged out from the qualitative data related to the characteristics of a good/bad IAP, the IAPs as downsides, the ambiguity with traditional Pay-to-Play games, the financial-risk issues, the resistance behaviors, the worries about over-spending and addiction and the frustration mechanism.Research limitations/implicationsBy focusing on IAPs, this research contributes to build an integrative overview to better understand how players deal with IAPs and how this interaction should be analyzed in the light of multiple frameworks. Emphasis is placed on a continuum of player responses from tolerant metacognition to high degree of subversion.Originality/valueA twofold netnographic approach offers a novel contribution to the field of mobile games by bringing together two materials increasingly connected to the video game universe. It also brought to the fore an experiential context by providing insight into the underlying dynamics of Player/IAP interactions.

Personality traits and personal values of servant leaders

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-192
Author(s):  
Peter Sun ◽  
Sudong Shang
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Servant Leadership ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Leadership Behaviors ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Servant Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Direct Reports

Purpose Servant leaders focus on their direct reports to enable them to grow to be independent and autonomous leaders. The purpose of this paper is to understand the way personal values and personality traits collectively influence this other-centered behavior. This will go a long way to unravel this unique style of leadership. Design/methodology/approach The study surveys managers and their direct reports. Leaders rated their personality trait and personal values, while their direct reports rated the leader’s servant leadership behaviors. Age, educational level, conscientiousness, extraversion and neuroticism of leaders were used as controls. The study also checked for endogeneity threats. Findings Using a sample of 81 leaders and 279 of their direct reports, the study finds that the personal value of benevolent dependability relates negatively to servant leadership behaviors. In addition, the personality traits of agreeableness and openness/intellect moderate the relationship between benevolent dependability and servant leadership behaviors. Research limitations/implications The findings shed important insights into what motivates servant leaders to engage in other-directed behaviors, thereby enabling future research into individual characteristics that define servant leaders. Originality/value Although studies have examined how values and personality traits influence leadership behaviors, no research has examined both types of individual differences in a single study. Studies examining the individual differences of servant leaders are few, and this study answers the call by Liden et al. (2014) to examine individual characteristics that are both personality based (traits) and malleable (values).

“There is total silence here” Ethical competence and inter-organizational learning in healthcare governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
Erica Falkenström ◽  
Anna T. Höglund
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical Competence ◽  
Stepwise Method ◽  
Business Principles ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse ethical competence related to healthcare governance and management tasks at the county/regional level in Sweden. The paper also discusses conditions that support or constrain the development and application of such competence. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on original qualitative data from 13 interviews and 6 meeting observations. Three key groups of actors were included: politicians, civil servants and CEOs in publicly financed health-provider organizations. An abductive analysis was carried out by a stepwise method guided by thematic research questions. Findings The informants viewed themselves as having a high degree of ethical responsibility for healthcare practice. However, they did not integrate ethical reflection and dialogue into their work decisions (e.g. regarding budgets, reforms and care agreements). The current organization, control systems and underlying business principles, along with the individuals’ understanding of their own and others’ roles, tended to constrain the development and use of ethical competence. Practical implications Qualities of an appropriate ethical competence related to healthcare governance and management, and conditions to develop and use such competence, are suggested. Originality/value Hardly any empirical research has examined ethical competence related to healthcare governance and management tasks. The paper integrates ethics and theories on learning in organizations and contributes knowledge about ethical competence and the conditions necessary to develop and practise ethical competence in an organizational and inter-organizational context.

A test of three basic assumptions of Situational Leadership® II Model and their implications for HRD practitioners

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drea Zigarmi ◽  
Taylor Peyton Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Leadership Behaviors ◽  
Situational Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Initiating Structure ◽  
Direct Reports ◽  
Mean Differences ◽  
Job Affect

Purpose This study aims to test the following three assertions underlying the Situational Leadership® II (SLII) Model: all four leadership styles are received by followers; all four leadership styles are needed by followers; and if there is a fit between the leadership style a follower receives and needs, that follower will demonstrate favorable scores on outcome variables. Design/methodology/approach For the first and second assertions, a proportional breakdown of the four leadership styles observed within a sample of working professionals is presented and discussed. Regarding the third assertion, for ten outcome variables, multiple one-way analyses of variance tested mean differences between followers who experienced leadership style fit (i.e. a fit between received and needed style) and followers who did not experience fit (n = 573). Subscale scores from the Leader Action Profile, the Work Intention Inventory, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and an adapted form of the Affective/Cognitive trust scale (McAllister, 1995) were used as study measures. Findings Three of the four leadership styles of the SLII framework were reported as frequently received. All four of the leadership styles were reported as needed. This study also found that follower-reported fit between one’s needed and received leadership style at work resulted in more favorable scores on nine of the ten employee outcomes, as compared to follower-reported misfit. Practical implications As human resource development practitioners seek to educate and train their leaders on how to be more effective with their direct reports, this research provides evidence that all four styles are needed and received, although there were lower instances of reporting the S1 style to be needed or received. Also, the findings demonstrated that when followers view a fit exists between the leadership behaviors they need and the leadership behaviors they receive, greater positive job affect, lower negative job affect, increased cognitive and affective trust in the leader and higher levels of favorable employee work intentions were evident. Originality/value This paper builds on the resurgence of studies examining initiating structure and consideration as leader behaviors. This is one of very few recent studies that, by combining initiating structure and consideration, reinvestigates the four leadership styles established by past contingency theories. Specifically, the authors used the SLII framework as a foundation for analysis. Overall, the study supports three of the major assumptions of the SLII framework.

Survey identifying commonality across international Recovery Colleges

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-128
Author(s):  
Toni King ◽  
Sara Meddings
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Scale ◽  
Operational Models ◽  
The Uk ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Mailed Survey

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary outline of the international presence, commonality and differences between Recovery Colleges. Design/methodology/approach This study used a short e-mailed survey to create a map of Recovery Colleges internationally and review Recovery Colleges outside the UK. Questions gathered descriptive and qualitative data to gain an overview of the mode of delivery and aspects respondents felt were noteworthy. Findings This paper identifies Recovery Colleges in 22 countries in five continents (including the UK). Participants described wide variance in their context. Despite adaptations, the operational models and inherent principles of each were closely aligned to those developed in the UK. Originality/value This paper provides the first baseline of Recovery Colleges on an international scale. It provides evidence of a high degree of commonality despite variance in setting and highlights the internationally valued transformational power of this model.

scholarly journals Greater fit and a greater gap

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-594
Author(s):  
Steven A. Brieger ◽  
Dirk De Clercq ◽  
Jolanda Hessels ◽  
Christian Pfeifer
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Worker Rights ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Person Environment Fit ◽  
High Power Distance ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Low Uncertainty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how national institutional environments contribute to differences in life satisfaction between entrepreneurs and employees. Design/methodology/approach Leveraging person–environment fit and institutional theories and using a sample of more than 70,000 entrepreneurs and employees from 43 countries, the study investigates how the impact of entrepreneurial activity on life satisfaction differs in various environmental contexts. An entrepreneur’s life satisfaction arguably should increase when a high degree of compatibility or fit exists between his or her choice to be an entrepreneur and the informal and formal institutional environment. Findings The study finds that differences in life satisfaction between entrepreneurs and employees are larger in countries with high power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, extant entrepreneurship policies, low commercial profit taxes and low worker rights. Originality/value This study sheds new light on how entrepreneurial activity affects life satisfaction, contingent on the informal and formal institutions in a country that support entrepreneurship by its residents.

Knowledge needs in the non-profit sector: an evidence-based model of organizational practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh Rathi ◽  
Lisa M. Given ◽  
Eric Forcier
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Organizational Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
Survey Responses

Purpose – This paper aims to present findings from a study of non-profit organizations (NPOs), including a model of knowledge needs that can be applied by practitioners and scholars to further develop the NPO sector. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted with NPOs operating in Canada and Australia. An analysis of survey responses identified the different types of knowledge essential for each organization. Respondents identified the importance of three pre-determined themes (quantitative data) related to knowledge needs, as well as a fourth option, which was a free text box (qualitative data). The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analyses and a grounded theory approach, respectively. Findings – Analysis of the quantitative data indicates that NPOs ' needs are comparable in both countries. Analysis of qualitative data identified five major categories and multiple sub-categories representing the types of knowledge needs of NPOs. Major categories are knowledge about management and organizational practices, knowledge about resources, community knowledge, sectoral knowledge and situated knowledge. The paper discusses the results using semantic proximity and presents an emergent, evidence-based knowledge management (KM)-NPO model. Originality/value – The findings contribute to the growing body of literature in the KM domain, and in the understudied research domain related to the knowledge needs and experiences of NPOs. NPOs will find the identified categories and sub-categories useful to undertake KM initiatives within their individual organizations. The study is also unique, as it includes data from two countries, Canada and Australia.

Living in the end times: a short course addressing end of life issues for older people in an English parish church setting

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 140-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Collicutt
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
End Of Life Issues ◽  
End Times ◽  
High Level ◽  
High Degree

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report a pilot study that evaluated an innovative practice in a faith community context designed to help older people live well at the end of life and prepare for death. Design/methodology/approach – A simple audit of the intervention using a contemporaneous journal kept by the author, and a follow up questionnaire completed by participants. Findings – Rich findings on the process are reported. These indicate a high degree of engagement by participants, the establishment of a high degree of group intimacy and trust, a high level of articulation of wisdom, the emergence of significant anxiety in some isolated cases, and the use made of tea and cake to manage the transition between the existentially demanding nature of the discussions and normal life. The outcome indicated very high levels of appreciation and increased confidence in relation to issues of death and dying. Practical implications – The findings of the pilot have been used to inform training of clergy in the principles of working in this area (e.g. in ways of managing group dynamics and anxiety, pacing, tuning in to archetypes and the natural symbols that people use to talk about death and dying, self-care and supervision of the programme leader/facilitator). Originality/value – The paper adds to knowledge in terms of an in depth description of processes at work in a group of older people working on spiritual and practical issues in relation to death, and offers ideas for supporting older people in this process, some of which are specific to the Christian tradition, and some of which are more widely applicable to people of all faiths and none. It gives a specific worked example of what “spiritual care” in this area might look like.

What would I change the next time? A confessional tale of in‐depth qualitative data collection

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Smith
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Data Collection

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss how fieldwork impacted the author's own and one participant's positioning; the author's reflexivity, experiences and feelings of alterity; the participant's performances and conversations between the author and participant.Design/methodology/approachThe author uses a confessional tale to describe the time spent with the participant and confesses how it impacted on the author as the researcher. The author examines her biases, feelings, and vulnerabilities, and explores some of the methodological and positioning issues with which she struggled.FindingsThe author ponders on what she learned while being in such close quarters with a participant and discusses what she should keep in mind about herself as the researcher during subsequent data collection forays. Researchers should know themselves well before attempting such closeness because when we are researchers, we can’t change who we are as people.Originality/valueIt is believed that the extreme researcher/participant closeness was unique but was, at the same time, an extremely useful form of data collection.

The X factor that can help to motivate Generation Y

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.S. Sreejith
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Recognition System ◽  
Information Technology Workers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Performance Evaluation System ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
Effective Performance

Purpose – Explains why performance evaluation designed for manufacturers is inappropriate for information technology organizations. Design/methodology/approach – Underlines the distinctiveness of the information technology workforce and provides the basis for an effective performance- evaluation system designed for these workers. Findings – Highlights the roles of consensus and transparency in setting and modifying evaluation criteria. Practical implications – Urges the need for a fair and open rewards and recognition system to run in parallel with reformed performance evaluation. Social implications – Provides a way of updating performance evaluation systems to take account of the move from manufacturing to information technology-based jobs in many developed and developing societies. Originality/value – Reveals how best to recognize, reward and assess the performance of information technology workers.

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