The Gordian Knot of Practicing Digital Transformation: Coping with Emergent Paradoxes in Ambidextrous Organizing Structures*

• DOI: 10.1111/jpim.12548
• Publication Date: 2020-08-08T05:39:38Z
• Authors: Pernille Smith; Michela Beretta
• Keywords: Exploratory research

Despite increasing scholarly attention on digital transformation, there are only limited micro‐level insights into how incumbent firms organize and manage their transformation efforts a daily basis. Through longitudinal, exploratory qualitative case study of large firm, this article investigates organizational members respond to an ambidextrous organizing model designed accelerate innovations. The firm relied hybrid separation integration its efforts. This unfolds the implications consequences such at micro‐level. By applying paradox lens, it shows coping actions affected transformation. illustrates led emergence three paradoxes level (paradoxes organizing, attention, knowledge sharing) that had cope with. It members, through with these paradoxes, indirectly by altering original design; management, influenced learnings, subsequently adapted enable better sustainability over time. Overall, findings show explain why for is particularly complex paradoxical endeavor. They also provide important managers developers, helping them become aware possible tensions in as well strategies practices tackle tensions. Finally, suggests different paths further research innovation from perspective.