Management and leadership of innovation and ambidexterity in the innovative high-performance enterprises in Thailand

Abstract

To be innovative and high-performance are two opposing dimensions in organizations; one requires innovativeness, another, efficiency. Innovativeness and efficiency each requires a different and, often, contrasting set of capability and mentality; this causes paradoxes for organizations to manage along the way. Ambidexterity or the capabilities to maximize both dimensions is instrumental in managing the paradoxes. This research set out to study the organizations considered to be innovative and high-performance to explore the antecedent factors that enable ambidexterity in these organizations. A multi-case study was opted as the research methodology to explore fifteen high-performance and innovative organizations; in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen high-ranking executives, one from each organization. These organizations included three groups of company: 1) manufacturing corporations with over 100 innovation staff, 2) those with 51-100 innovation staff, and 3) IT/high-tech companies. The study sought out how these ambidextrous organizations manage and lead for both innovation and efficiency concurrently. The findings revealed six themes of the antecedents of ambidexterity: 1) separation and dynamics of structure, 2) strategic management, 3) systems, 4) project control procedures, 5) leadership, and 6) knowledge. Furthermore, the top-ten ranked antecedents were identified: 1) focusing corporate strategy on innovation and efficiency, 2) separated work unit for innovation, 3) setting directions for innovation, 4) up-front project feasibility screening, 5) timeline control, 6) management by committee, 7) budget control, 8) integration and cohesiveness of innovation management team, 9) innovation talent management, and 10) performance management system. Incidentally, also identified in the research were seven themes of the antecedent factors of innovation, i.e. 1) structure, 2) system-process-tool, 3) staff, 4) human resource development and management, 5) leadership for innovation, 6) organizational climate and culture, 7) knowledge, and 8) environmental elements. Furthermore, The top-ten ranked antecedent factors of innovation were identified as follows: 1) support for opportunities and resources, 2) leaders showing passion and/or involvement in innovation, 3) cross-functional project teams, 4) functional expertise, 5) internal spatial separation of structure, 6) customer insight and market intelligence, 7) keeping pace with the latest technology, 8) technological changes as triggers for innovation, 9) flat structure, and 10) innovation as strategy and/or core-value. The recommendation for practices proposed the following antecedent factors for organizations vying to be innovative and high-performance: 1) separation of structure for innovation, 2) alignment of explorative and exploitative functions, 3) ambidextrous strategic management, 4) scenario planning, 5) performance management systems, 6) talent management system, 7) project control procedures and tools, 8) separation of knowledge focus between management and frontline people, and 9) ambidextrous leadership.