The Curvilinear Relationships Between Top Decision Maker Goal Orientations and Firm Ambidexterity: Moderating Effect of Role Experience

Ambidextrous firms are those that can simultaneously manage exploitative and explorative innovation, which is why ambidexterity is key for firms that desire to pursue strategic entrepreneurship. Researchers have explored many of the reasons why some firms are more ambidextrous than others. However,...

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Main Authors: Christopher Pryor, Susana C. Santos, Jiangpei Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.621688/full
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author Christopher Pryor
Susana C. Santos
Susana C. Santos
Jiangpei Xie
author_facet Christopher Pryor
Susana C. Santos
Susana C. Santos
Jiangpei Xie
author_sort Christopher Pryor
collection DOAJ
description Ambidextrous firms are those that can simultaneously manage exploitative and explorative innovation, which is why ambidexterity is key for firms that desire to pursue strategic entrepreneurship. Researchers have explored many of the reasons why some firms are more ambidextrous than others. However, little attention has been devoted to understanding how attributes of top decision makers can influence their firms' ambidexterity. By drawing on upper echelons theory and goal orientations research, we explain how firms' ambidexterity can be affected by top decision makers' motivations in achievement situations (i.e., goal orientations). Testing our hypotheses on a sample of 274 top decision makers of firms in the United States, we find that top decision makers' learning goal orientation – their desire to take risks and maximize learning–has an inverted U-shaped relationship with ambidexterity while top decision makers' performance prove goal orientation – their desire to demonstrate competence with existing skills – has a U-shaped relationship with ambidexterity. These effects are weaker for top decision makers who have greater role experience.
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spelling doaj.art-298b1db26cd44e9ba6e600597679cbdf2022-12-21T22:06:03ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-04-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.621688621688The Curvilinear Relationships Between Top Decision Maker Goal Orientations and Firm Ambidexterity: Moderating Effect of Role ExperienceChristopher Pryor0Susana C. Santos1Susana C. Santos2Jiangpei Xie3Warrington College of Business, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesCollege of Business, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, United StatesBusiness Research Unit, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon, PortugalDepartment of Human Resource Management, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Xiasha University Town, Hangzhou, ChinaAmbidextrous firms are those that can simultaneously manage exploitative and explorative innovation, which is why ambidexterity is key for firms that desire to pursue strategic entrepreneurship. Researchers have explored many of the reasons why some firms are more ambidextrous than others. However, little attention has been devoted to understanding how attributes of top decision makers can influence their firms' ambidexterity. By drawing on upper echelons theory and goal orientations research, we explain how firms' ambidexterity can be affected by top decision makers' motivations in achievement situations (i.e., goal orientations). Testing our hypotheses on a sample of 274 top decision makers of firms in the United States, we find that top decision makers' learning goal orientation – their desire to take risks and maximize learning–has an inverted U-shaped relationship with ambidexterity while top decision makers' performance prove goal orientation – their desire to demonstrate competence with existing skills – has a U-shaped relationship with ambidexterity. These effects are weaker for top decision makers who have greater role experience.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.621688/fullambidexteritygoal orientationsrole experienceupper echelons theorymicrofoundationsstrategic entrepreneurship
spellingShingle Christopher Pryor
Susana C. Santos
Susana C. Santos
Jiangpei Xie
The Curvilinear Relationships Between Top Decision Maker Goal Orientations and Firm Ambidexterity: Moderating Effect of Role Experience
Frontiers in Psychology
ambidexterity
goal orientations
role experience
upper echelons theory
microfoundations
strategic entrepreneurship
title The Curvilinear Relationships Between Top Decision Maker Goal Orientations and Firm Ambidexterity: Moderating Effect of Role Experience
title_full The Curvilinear Relationships Between Top Decision Maker Goal Orientations and Firm Ambidexterity: Moderating Effect of Role Experience
title_fullStr The Curvilinear Relationships Between Top Decision Maker Goal Orientations and Firm Ambidexterity: Moderating Effect of Role Experience
title_full_unstemmed The Curvilinear Relationships Between Top Decision Maker Goal Orientations and Firm Ambidexterity: Moderating Effect of Role Experience
title_short The Curvilinear Relationships Between Top Decision Maker Goal Orientations and Firm Ambidexterity: Moderating Effect of Role Experience
title_sort curvilinear relationships between top decision maker goal orientations and firm ambidexterity moderating effect of role experience
topic ambidexterity
goal orientations
role experience
upper echelons theory
microfoundations
strategic entrepreneurship
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.621688/full
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