book :　Balancing Exploration and Exploitation by Creating Organizational Think Tanks


Table of contents
Foreword   V
Preface   VII
Table of contents   IX
Table of figures   XI
1 Introduction   1
         1.1 Problem definition   1
         1.2 Research objectives   6
         1.3 Course of investigation  8
2 Problems and concepts of R&D alignment  11
         2.1. Exploration vs. exploitation  11
               2.1.1 Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning  12
                  2.1.1.1 Mutual leaning and the exploration vs. exploitation trade-off  13
                  2.1.1.2 Competition for primacy and the exploration vs. exploitation trade-off     15
                  2.1.1.3 Introducing interpersonal learning and tacit knowledge to March 1991     18
               2.1.2 The productivity dilemma  21
                  2.1.2.1 Coevolutionary lock-in  24
                  2.1.2.2 Absorptive capacity  25
                  2.1.2.3 Organizational routines  27
         2.2 Ambidexterity and punctuated equilibrium  30
               2.2.1 Ambidexterity  30
               2.2.2 Punctuated equilibrium  33
               2.2.3 Ambidexterity vs. punctuated equilibrium  35
         2.3 Interorganizational ambidexterity  39
3 Shifting think tanks from the macro- to a meso-level  45
         3.1 Political think tank concepts  45
               3.1.1 Traditional think tank concepts  46
               3.1.2 Modern think tank concepts  49
               3.1.3 Think tanks and societal ambidexterity  50
         3.2 (Inter-)organizational exploration concepts  53
               3.2.1. Individual organization level exploration concepts  55
                  3.2.1.1 Radical innovation  55
                  3.2.1.2 Skunkworks  58 X  
                  3.2.1.3 Bell Labs  59
                  3.2.1.4 Distinguished engineers  61
                  3.2.1.5 Comments on intraorganizational exploration  64
               3.2.2 interorganizational level exploration concepts  65
                  3.2.2.1 Open innovation  66
                  3.2.2.2 Organizational networks as strategic alliances  70
         3.3 Organizational think tanks  82
               3.3.1 Organizational think tank structures  82
               3.3.2 Organizational think tanks vs. intraorganizational exploration  90
               3.3.3 Organizational think tanks vs. interorganizational exploration  92
4 Critical issues of the organizational think tank approach  95
         4.1 Discussing organizational think tanks  95
         4.2 knowledge governance  100
               4.2.1 Knowledge governance challenges in the org. think tank approach  101
               4.2.2 The charm of governing knowledge in an org. think tank approach  104
         4.3 Management recommendations  109
5 Conclusion  115
         5.1 Summary, conclusion & criticism  115
         5.2 Suggestions for further research  118
Bibliography  121 XI  
Table of figures
Figure 1: The summarized framework of the paper  10
Figure 2: The scope of ambidextrous organizations  31
Figure 3: Single domain mutual exclusivity of exploration and exploitation  40
Figure 4: Orthogonality between exploration and exploitation at a multi-level  40
Figure 5: R&D Management System  57
Figure 6: Interorganizational networks – between market and hierarchy  73
Figure 7: Organizational think tank concept  87
Figure 8: Knowledge governance  102