Top Managers' cognition facilitates organisational ambidexterity: The mediating role of cognitive processes

Top Managers' cognition facilitates organisational ambidexterity: The mediating role of cognitive processes

It is empirically founded and tested that top management team group processes facilitate ambidexterity, whereas the role of top managers' cognition has remained empirically largely neglected. This study contributes to the literature of top managers' cognition by theoretically developing th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European management journal Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 589 - 600
Main Authors: Wilms, Rafael, Winnen, Lothar A., Lanwehr, Ralf
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2019
Elsevier Science Ltd
Subjects:
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive Frames
Differentiation
Exploitation
Group processes
Handedness
Integrative Complexity
Leadership
Managerial skills
Managers
Organisational Ambidexterity
Organizational behavior
Teams
Top management
Top Manager
Top Manager
Cognitive Frames
Organisational Ambidexterity
Integrative Complexity
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Summary:It is empirically founded and tested that top management team group processes facilitate ambidexterity, whereas the role of top managers' cognition has remained empirically largely neglected. This study contributes to the literature of top managers' cognition by theoretically developing the relationship between cognitive frames and organisational ambidexterity, and the mediating process of cognitive differentiation and integration. The study empirically tests the proposed model in cross-sectional design by employing a sample of 101 top managers, using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The study shows that top managers' paradoxical frames encourage the engagement in cognitive differentiation and integration, whereas top managers' paradoxical frames are not significantly related to organisational ambidexterity. Solely appreciating exploitation and exploration does not foster ambidexterity, but is an antecedent for top managers' cognitive differentiation and integration. Top managers' cognitive differentiation and integration mediate the relationship between top managers' paradoxical frames and organisational ambidexterity. Additionally, top managers' cognitive integration moderates the effect between top managers' cognitive differentiation and organisational ambidexterity, which stresses the pivotal role of top managers' cognitive integration.
ISSN:0263-2373
1873-5681
DOI:10.1016/j.emj.2019.03.006