Contributions

  • Tushman, Michael - Contributor
  • Harvard Business School - Contributor

Publication

2011 - Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts

Language

English

Word Count

10,000 words, Guess

Page Count

40 pages

Identifiers

Description

This paper explores the shifting nature of differentiation and integration in organizations attempting to explore and exploit. In a longitudinal study of six new business initiatives, we find that firms engage in a dynamic process of managing contradictory boundary activities. Boundaries between differentiated units are reinforced to enable exploitation and exploration, while corporate boundary spanners integrate these processes. The locus of integration shifts from the corporate team to lower organizational levels when the new business initiative reaches economic and cognitive legitimacy. We use these insights to revise the organizational ambidexterity concept, considering the underexplored roles of time, paradox, and locus.

Subjects

Series Statement

  • Working paper / Harvard Business School -- 11-111

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