Purpose

It is increasingly recognised that managers play a central role in organisational ambidexterity. While some scholars have recently begun to explain the nature and antecedents of ambidextrous behaviour among managers, much remains to be learned about the micro-foundations of this behaviour. Adopting a people–situation interaction approach, this paper investigates the antecedents to managerial ambidexterity from both situational and individual difference considerations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a quantitative approach using a combination of survey and archival data from 305 managers.

Findings

The results indicate that learning goal orientation is positively related with managerial ambidexterity, whereas there is no significant relationship between functional experience breadth and managerial ambidexterity. In testing moderation effects, discretionary slack is found to positively moderate the association between learning goal orientation and ambidexterity and between functional experiences and ambidexterity.

Practical implications

This paper provides suggestions on employees selection and training, along with organisational support, in enacting managerial ambidexterity.

Originality/value

Guided by individual difference theory, this paper adds value to one’s understanding of the antecedents to managerial ambidexterity. It contributes to the ambidexterity literature from the micro-foundation perspective.

中文翻译：

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了解管理者的灵活性：一种人与情境互动的方法

目的

人们越来越认识到，管理者在组织灵活性中起着核心作用。尽管一些学者最近开始解释管理者之间行为不端的本质和前提，但是关于这种行为的微观基础还有很多事情要学。本文采用人与地互动的方法，从情境和个人差异的角度研究了管理矛盾的前因。

设计/方法/方法

本研究采用定量方法，结合了305位管理者的调查和档案数据。

发现

结果表明，学习目标定向与管理者的灵巧性成正相关，而功能经验的广度与管理者的灵巧性之间没有显着关系。在测试适度效果时，发现随意放松可以积极地调节学习目标定向与灵活性之间以及功能体验与灵活性之间的关联。

实际影响

本文提供有关员工选择和培训的建议，以及在制定管理模糊性方面的组织支持。

创意/价值

在个人差异理论的指导下，本文为人们对管理歧义性的先例的理解增添了价值。从微观基础的角度来看，它为歧义性文献做出了贡献。