How top management team diversity fosters organizational ambidexterity

Abstract

Purpose Premised on the information‐processing perspective, this paper attempts to examine whether diverse top management team can simultaneously pursue contradictory innovations. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a questionnaire survey and analysis of a sample of 113 firms in China. Findings Team heterogeneity has an ambiguous nature which may not only facilitate building paradoxical mental models or cognitive frames, but also harm the exchange of information and integration of differential knowledge within top management teams. Therefore, the paper argues that the most important issue in this research field is to address the dilemma and to find the governance mechanism to effectively manage the dual impact of team diversity on attaining organizational ambidexterity. The findings show that the social capital among top executives, including connectedness, trust and shared vision, can moderate the link between team diversity and organizational ambidexterity. Originality/value The paper suggests that building social capital among top executives may be a useful way or approach to information sharing and knowledge integrations within senior teams.

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