Organizational ambidexterity in construction projects

P. E. Eriksson, H. Szentes

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingPaper in conference proceedingpeer-review

Abstract

Most organizations need to be ambidextrous by exploiting current knowledge to make profits today as well as exploring new knowledge to prepare for tomorrow's demands. The capacity to achieve both exploration and exploitation is especially problematic in project based organizations due to projects' discontinuous nature. In this study we investigate how exploration and exploitation is managed in inter-organizational projects, through a multiple case study of seven construction projects. Tentative findings show that project actors focus more on exploitation than on exploration and that exploitation often involves adopting conventional methods and solutions without any development efforts. The findings also reveal that investment in explorative innovations must be possible to exploit in the current project, since exploitation in future projects is uncertain.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationICMIT 2014 - 2014 IEEE International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology
PublisherIEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages81-86
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781479955299
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014 Oct 31
Externally publishedYes
Event2014 IEEE International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology, ICMIT 2014 - Singapore, Singapore
Duration: 2014 Sept 232014 Sept 25

Publication series

NameICMIT 2014 - 2014 IEEE International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology

Conference

Conference2014 IEEE International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology, ICMIT 2014
Country/TerritorySingapore
CitySingapore
Period2014/09/232014/09/25

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Construction Management
  • Business Administration

Free keywords

  • Ambidexterity
  • exploitation
  • exploration
  • inter-organizational projects

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