The pursuit of individual ambidexterity by middle managers and their psychological well-being

Moccia, Andrea Sara, Dawson, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4994-6169 and Darwish, Tamer K ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1815-9338 (2025) The pursuit of individual ambidexterity by middle managers and their psychological well-being. European Management Review. (In Press)

Text 14929 Moccia, A. S et al. (2025) The pursuit of individual ambidexterity by middle managers and their psychological well-being.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 4.0. Download (604kB)

Abstract

Companies increasingly demand ambidexterity from their middle managers, the ability to flexibly switch between exploitation (use and refine existing competencies) and exploration (explore new opportunities and ideas). From a job design perspective, ambidexterity is seen as a valuable form of job enrichment that can increase employee creativity, innovation and motivation. However, studies have also indicated that the demand for ambidexterity potentially leads to frustration, anger and stress. Despite these warnings, the possible negative impact on employee well-being has received little attention in the literature. Hence, we explore the potential negative effects of demands for ambidexterity. Considering the moderating effect of the Big Five personality traits and team climate, the influence of the demand for ambidexterity on middle managers' well-being is investigated using survey data collected from administrative middle managers working across different divisions and professions of Swiss Post. The analysis of data from 1,657 participants suggests that the demand for ambidexterity does not generally pose a threat to middle managers' well-being, yet at the same time does not provide a positive impact. It was also found that personality, in contrast to team climate, has a significant moderating effect with extraversion positively influencing the impact of the demand for ambidexterity on middle managers' well-being, whilst conscientiousness and neuroticism have a negative influence. The findings challenge existing theory with wide reaching implications, suggesting that organisations need not fear demanding ambidexterity from their middle managers and that a more complex relationship exists between ambidexterity and affective well-being than previously hypothesised.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Ambidexterity; Well-being; Middle managers; Innovation; Personality; Team climate; Switzerland
Related URLs:	Publisher
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5001 Business H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5001 Business > HF5549 Personnel management. Employment management
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Tamer Darwish
Date Deposited:	04 Apr 2025 14:04
Last Modified:	04 Apr 2025 14:15
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/14929

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