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Artificial Intelligence Knowledge Development

<p style="text-align:justify;">This study examines the sources of continuity and change in complex organizations characterized by multiple embeddedness. The case is built on a vertical business group of Japan’s shipping industry. In a grounded study, sampling was performed in collaboration with HR and, simultaneous data collection/analysis conducted by the author. Semi-structured interviews took place with middle and top managers in the Tokyo HQ and the London subsidiary across June and July, 2019. As a result, it is argued that ambiguity is systemically inherent in organizations – notably in business groups. Ambiguity is explicated as a knowledge production unit that possesses a structure/process duality. As structure, it upholds and reinforces the dominant logic by 1) defining the moment of truth: membership criteria, control matrix, allocation of resources, norms and standards, desired behaviors, activities etc. and, by 2) control and coordination: delineates the scope of allowed informal action, allocates time, space, processes to perform these. As a process, ambiguity is manifest in the autonomous informal action of socialized and acculturated actors. The integration of informally understood and formally codified structures and processes is found effective to sustain the status quo and, to provide for adaptive continuity: ambiguity’s utility reaches as far as facilitating and reinforcing implementation. The paradox of ambiguity’s inertial and constructive aspect is dissolved in a duality which is mobilized by the organizing purpose requiring action; inertia for stability and, its active aspect to attain continuity. Practical implications: management knowledge has overly emphasized clarity and has regarded ambiguity as a risk; a problem to be clarified. Ambiguity, however, is social control &amp; coordination that can be integrated in the formal organization; culture and identity are often more effective than explicit controls in buying support from members for organizational goals and implementing these.</p>

mbrq.2023.28.01.pdf

Original Research 

mbrq.2023.28.01.xml

Clear or Real?  The Transformation of a Japanese Business Group: How Does Ambiguity Produce Knowledge?  

<p style="text-align:justify;">The paper answers the questions: How is it possible for mature and complex organizations to break out from their evolutionary trajectories? How do these changes take place on the micro level? The paper argues, that stability and volatility can be mutually inclusive. Stability is found to provide the structures, processes, and agentic templates for the organization to perceive change stimuli, to act on these and to roll out changes. The integration of social and formal structures and processes is found essential to effect changes. To conceptualize, path dependence theory is synthetized from a process perspective. The exploratory study is conducted by the author in the shipping industry of Japan, that brings the closed, complex, and hyper-stable Japanese business groups to focus, the core headquarters operation of which has been out of reach of scholars till now due to organizational-cultural boundaries. The findings are relevant to all organizations undergoing change in general, to complex and mature organizations locked in a state of pathological inertia in particular, and, most specifically, to Japanese business groups.</p>

mbrq.2023.26.02.pdf

mbrq.2023.26.02.xml

Reconcile the Paradox: Stability & Volatility Inclusive