Abstract
Organizations that intend to become more sustainable are challenged to learn in social, ecological and economic dimensions simultaneously. Research so far has not acknowledged that within each of these dimensions (learning areas) the learning processes of exploration and exploitation occur. The paper addresses this research gap and discusses the paradoxical tensions that occur between explorative and exploitative sustainability learning. First, we show how exploration and exploitation can be understood as modes of learning of sustainability und develop a typology of sustainable ambidextrous organizations. Second, we discuss how organizations and their leaders can cope with the paradoxes of learning that occur when organizations learn to be more sustainable.
Zusammenfassung
Organisationen, die nachhaltiger werden wollen, müssen sowohl in der sozialen, ökologischen als auch der ökonomischen Dimension lernen. Bislang wurde in der Forschung nicht beachtet, dass in jeder dieser Dimensionen (Lernfelder) die paradox verbundenen Lernprozesse Exploration und Exploitation möglich sind. Der vorliegende Beitrag setzt an dieser Forschungslücke an und diskutiert paradoxe Spannungen des explorativen und exploitativen nachhaltigkeitsorientierten Lernens. Hierbei wird zunächst aufgezeigt, dass Exploitation und Exploration als Lernmodi des Lernens von Nachhaltigkeit verstanden werden können und eine Typologie ambidextrer nachhaltiger Organisationstypen entwickelt. Anschließend wird diskutiert, wie Organisationen beziehungsweise deren Führungskräfte mit den Lernparadoxien beim Lernen von Nachhaltigkeit umgehen können.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literatur
Andriopoulus, Constantine/ Lewis, Marianne L. (2009), Managing Innovative Paradoxes: Ambidexterity Lessons from Leading Product Design Companies, in: Long Range Planning, Vol. 43, S. 104–122.
Andriopoulus, Constantine/ Lewis, Marianne L. (2010), Exploitation-Exploration Tensions and Organizational Ambidexterity: Managing Paradoxes of Innovation, in: Organization Science, Vol. 20, S. 696–717.
Armitage, Derek/ Marschke, Melissa/ Plummer, Ryan (2008), Adaptive Co-Management and the Paradox of Learning, in: Global Environmental Change, Vol. 18, S. 86–98.
Banerjee, Subhabrata B. (2011), Embedding Sustainability Across the Organization: A Critical Perspective, Academy of Learning & Education, Vol. 10, S. 719–731.
Blackman, Deborah/ Kennedy, Monica/ Quazi, Ali (2013), Corporate Social Responsibility and Individual Resistance: Learning as the Missing Link in Implementation, in: Management Learning, Vol. 44, S. 237–252.
Bolton, Sharon C./ Kim, Rebecca C./ O’Gorman, Kevin D. (2011), Corporate Social Responsibility as a Dynamic Internal Organizational Process: A Case Study, in: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 101, S. 61–74.
Calton, Jerry M./ Payne, Steven L. (2003), Coping With Paradox: Multistakeholder Learning Dialogue as a Pluralist Sensemaking Process for Addressing Messy Problems, in: Business & Society, Vol. 42, S. 7–42.
Cramer, Jacqueline (2005), Company Learning about Corporate Social Responsibility, in: Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 14, S. 255–266.
Dyllick, Thomas/ Hockerts, Kai (2002), Beyond the Business Case for Corporate Sustainability, in: Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 11, S. 130–141.
Docherty, Peter/ Kira, Mari/ Shani, A.B. Rami (Hrsg.) (2009), Creating Sustainable Work Systems. Developing Social Sustainability, 2. Aufl., London.
Ehnert, Ina (2009), Sustainable Human Resource Management: A Conceptual and Exploratory Analysis from a Paradox Perspective, Heidelberg.
Elkington, John (1994), Towards the Sustainable Corporation: Win-Win Business Strategies for Sustainable Development, in: California Management Review, Vol. 36, S. 90–100.
Fenwick, Tara (2007), Developing Organizational Practices of Ecological Sustainability. A Learning Perspective, in: Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 28, S. 632–645.
Gibson, Cristina B./ Birkinshaw, Julian (2004), The Antecedents, Consequences, and Mediating Role of Organizational Ambidexterity, in: Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 47, S. 209–226.
Gladwin Thomas N./ Kennelly, James J./ Krause, Tara-Shelomith (1995), Shifting Paradigms for Sustainable Development: Implications for Management Theory and Research, in: Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20, S. 874–907.
Goa, Jijun/ Bansal, Pratima (2013), Instrumental and Integral Logics in Business Sustainability, in: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 112, S. 241–255.
Hahn, Tobias/ Figge, Frank (2011), Beyond the Bounded Instrumentality in Current Corporate Sustainability Research: Toward an Inclusive Notion of Profitability, in: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 104, S. 325–345.
Hahn, Tobias/ Pinske, Jonatan/ Preuss, Lutz/ Figge, Frank (2014), Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: Towards an Integrative Framework, Journal of Business Ethics, online first, DOI: 10.1007ls10551-014-2047-5.
Hansmann, Ralf (2010), “Sustainability Learning”: An Introduction to the Concept and Its Motivational Aspects, in: Sustainability, Vol. 9, S. 2873–2897.
Hargreaves, Andy/ Fink, Dean (2006), Sustainable Leadership, San Francisco.
Haugh, Helen M./ Talwar, Alka (2010), How Do Corporations Embed Sustainability Across the Organization, in: Academy of Management Learning and Education, Vol. 9, S. 384–396.
Hoang, Dong/ Jones, Bryn (2012), Why Do Corporate Codes of Conduct Fail? Women Workers and Clothing Supply Chains in Vietnam, in: Global Social Policy, Vol. 12, S. 67–85.
Hoffmann, Andrew H. (1999), Institutional Evolution and Change: Environmentalism and the U.S. Chemical Industry, in: Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 42, S. 351–371.
Jansen, Justin/ Van den Bosch, Frans A.J./ Volberda, Henk W. (2006), Exploratory Innovation, Exploitative Innovation, and Performance: Effects of Organizational Antecedents and Environmental Moderators, in: Management Science, Vol. 52, S. 1661–1674.
Jarzabkowski, Paula/ Le, Jane/ Van de Ven, Andrew (2013), Responding to Competing Strategic Demands: How Organizing, Belonging, and Performing Paradoxes Coevolve, in: Strategic Organization, Vol. 11, S. 245–280.
Kaptein Muel/ Wempe Johan (2001), Sustainability Management. Balancing Conflicting Economic, Environmental and Social Corporate Responsibilities, in: Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Vol. 1, S. 91–106.
Kesselring, Alexander/ Leitner, Michaela (2008), Soziale Innovationen in Unternehmen, ZSI-Zentrum für soziale Innovationen, Wien.
Kozica, Arjan/ Kaiser, Stephan (2012), A Sustainability Perspective on Flexible HRM: How to Integrate Isolated Research on Contingent Work by Applying a Sustainability Framework, in: Management Revue, Vol. 23, Issue 3, S. 239–261.
Lavie, Dovev/ Stettner, Uriel/ Tushman, Michael L. (2010), Exploration and Exploitation within and across Organizations, in: Academy of Management Annals, Vol. 4, S. 109–155.
Lewis, Marianne (2000), Exploring Paradox: Toward a More Comprehensive Guide, in: Academy of Management Review, Vol. 25, S. 760–776.
Lewis, Marianne W./ Andriopoulos, Costas/ Smith, Wendy (2014), Paradoxical Leadership to Enable Strategic Agility in: California Management Review, Summer Special Issue of Strategic Agility, im Erscheinen.
Loorbach, Derk/ van Bakel, Janneke C./ Whiteman, Gail/ Rotmans, Jan (2010), Business Strategies for Transition Towards Sustainable Systems, in: Business Strategy and The Environment, Vol. 19, S. 133–146.
Lozano, Rodrigo (2013), A Holistic Perspective on Corporate Sustainability Drivers, in: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, online first, DOI: 10.1002/csr.1325.
Lubatkin Michael H./ Simsek Zeki/ Ling, Yan/ Veiga, John F. (2006), Ambidexterity and Performance in Small-to-Medium-Sized Firms: The Pivotal Role of Top Management Team Behavioral Integration, in: Journal of Management, Vol. 32, S. 646–672.
Lülfs, Regina (2013), Nachhaltigkeit und organisationales Lernen. Eine transdisziplinäre Analyse. Springer, Wiesbaden.
Lüscher, Lotte/ Lewis, Marianne W. (2008), Organizational Change and Managerial Sensemaking: Working Through Paradox, in: Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 51, S. 221–240.
March, James G. (1991), Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning, in: Organization Science, Vol. 2, S. 71–87.
Margolis, Joshua, D./ Walsh, James P. (2003), Misery Loves Companies: Rethinking Social Initiatives By Business, in: Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 48, S. 268–305.
Mariappanadar, Sugumar (2003), Sustainable Human Resource Strategy. The Sustainable and Unsustainable Dilemmas of Retrenchment, in: International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 30, S. 906–923.
Mariappanadar, Sugumar (2012), Harm of Efficiency Oriented HRM Practices on Stakeholders: an Ethical Issue for Sustainability, in: Society and Business Review, Vol. 7, S. 168–184.
Meyer, John W./ Rowan, Brian (1977), Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony, in: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 83, S. 340–363.
Mohe, Michael/ Seidl, David (2011), Theorizing the Client-Consultant-Relationship from the Perspective of SocialSystems Theory, in: Organization, Vol. 18, S. 3–22.
Moldaschl, Manfred E. (Hrsg.) (2007), Verwertung immaterieller Ressourcen. Nachhaltigkeit von Unternehmensführung und Arbeit III, München.
Müller-Christ, Georg (2001), Nachhaltiges Ressourcenmanagement. Eine wirtschaftsökologische Fundierung, Marburg.
Müller-Christ, Georg (2011), Sustainable Management. Coping with the Dilemmas of a Resource-Oriented Management. Berlin Heidelberg.
Müller, Martin/ Siebenhüner, Bernd (2007), Policy Instruments for Sustainability-Oriented Organizational Learning, in: Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 16, S. 232–245.
Olbert-Bock, Sibylle/ Ehnert, Ina (2013), Nachhaltigkeit und HRM. Impulse für eine Nachhaltige Unternehmensentwicklung, in: Pekruhl, Ulrich/ Spaar, Regula/ Zölch, Martina (Hrsg.), HRM Jahrbuch 2013, Zürich.
O’Reilly III, Charles/ Tushman, Michael. L. (2004), The ambidextrous organization, in: Harvard Business Review, Vol. 82, S. 74–81.
Orlitzky, Marc/ Schmidt, Frank L./ Rynes, Sara L. (2003), Corporate Social and Financial Performance: a Meta-Analysis, Organization Studies, Vol. 24, S. 403–441.
Puranam, Panish/ Singh, Harbir/ Zollo, Mauritzio (2006), Organizing for Innovation: Managing the Coordination-Autonomy Dilemma in Technology Acquisitions, in: Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 49, S. 263–280.
Porter, Michael E./ Kramer, Mark R. (2006), Strategy and Society: the Link between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84, S. 78–92.
Pfeffer, Jeffrey (2010), Building Sustainable Organizations: The Human Factor, Academy of Management Perspectives, Vol. 2, S. 34–45.
Raisch, Sebastian/ Birkinshaw, Julian (2008), Organizational Ambidexterity: Antecedents, Outcomes and Moderators, in: Journal of Management, Vol. 34, S. 375–409.
Raisch, Sebastian/ Birkinshaw, Julian/ Probst, Gilbert/ Tushman, Michael L. (2009), Organizational Ambidexterity: Balancing Exploitation und Exploration for Sustained Performance, in: Organization Science, Vol. 20, S. 685–695.
Renwick, Douglas W.S./ Redman, Tom/ Maguire, Stuart (2013), Green Human Resource Management: A Review and Research Agenda, in: International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 15, S. 1–14.
Poole, Marshall S./ van de Ven, Andrew. H. (1989), Using Paradox to Build Management and Organization Theories, in: Academy of Management Review, Vol. 14, S. 562–578.
Saltzmann, Oliver/ Ionescu-somers, Aileen/ Steger, Ulrich (1995), The Business Case for Corporate Sustainability. in: Literature Review and Research Options, Vol. 23, S. 27–36.
Siebenhüner, Bernd/ Arnold, Marlen/ Hoffmann, Esther/ Behrends, Torsten/ Heerwart, Sebastian/ Beschorner, Thomas (Hrsg.) (2006), Organisationales Lernen und Nachhaltigkeit. Prozesse, Auswirkungen und Einflussfaktoren in sechs Unternehmensfallstudien, Marburg.
Siebenhüner, Bernd/ Arnold, Marlen (2007), Organizational Learning to Manage Sustainable Development, in: Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 16, S. 339–353.
Smith, Wendy K. (2014), Dynamic Decision Making: A Model of Senior Leader Managing Strategic Paradoxes, in: Academy of Management Journal, forthcoming.
Smith, Wendy K./ Tushman, Michael L. (2005), Managing Strategic Contradictions: A Top Management Model for Managing Innovation Streams, in: Organization Science, Vol. 16, S. 522–536.
Smith, Wendy/ Lewis, Marianne W. (2011), Towards a Theory of Paradox: A Dynamic Equilibrium Model of Organizing, in: Academy of Management Review, Vol. 36, S. 381–403.
Smith, Wendy K./ Besharov, Marya L./ Wessels, Anke K./ Chertok, M. (2012), A Paradoxical Leadership Model for Social Entrepreneurs: Challenges, Leadership Skills, and Pedagogical Tools for Managing Social and Commercial Demands, in: Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 11, S. 463–478.
Teece, David J./ Pisano, Gary/ Shuen, Amy (1997), Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management, in: Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 18, S. 509–533.
Tsoukas, Haridimos/ Hatch, Jo Mary (2001), Complex Thinking, Complex Practice: The Case for a Narrative Approach to Organizational Complexity, in: Human Relations, Vol. 54, S. 979–1013.
WCED (1987), Our Common Future. World Commission on Environment and Development. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Whiteman, Gail/ Walker, Brian/ Perego, Paolo (2013), Planetary Boundaries: Ecological Foundations for Corporate Sustainability, in: Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 50, S. 307–336.
Westenholz, nn (1993), Paradoxical Thinking and Change in the Frames of Reference, in: Organization Studies, Vol. 14, S. 37–58.
Wolf, Julia (2013), Improving the Sustainable Development of Firms: The Role of Employees, in: Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 22, S. 92–108.
Wood, Donna J. (2010), Measuring Corporate Social Performance: A Review, in: International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 12, S. 50–84.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kozica, A., Ehnert, I. Lernen von Nachhaltigkeit: Exploration und Exploitation als Lernmodi einer vollständig ambidextren Organisation. Schmalenbachs Z betriebswirtsch Forsch 66 (Suppl 68), 147–167 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373730
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373730