Download files
Abstract
Torn by having to meet the external demands of customers for quality service and internal demands for achieving sales targets, achieving a balance is not an easy task for traditional service units in fields such as retail banking, retailing, telecommunications, travel industry, and the like. This study examines the issue through the lens of an organizational ambidexterity framework. In the management literature, ambidexterity is used as a metaphor to describe an organization's ability to perform seemingly conflicting tasks or pursue disparate goals simultaneously (Lubatkin et al., 2006). As an emerging research area, ambidexterity studies address the issue of how an organization can pursue multiple goals simultaneously (Benner & Tushman, 2003). The study has three specific objectives: 1) to conceptualize ambidexterity in the context of service and sales in a retail bank setting; 2) to identify and empirically examine the antecedents of branch ambidexterity; and 3) to examine the impact of ambidexterity on branch financial performance. Based on resource-based view and organization-context literature, the present study focuses on the impact of employee characteristics and contextual variables on branch ambidexterity and, ultimately, branch-level financial performance.
The study uses both a qualitative and a quantitative approach. Data are collected from two large retail banks, one in Australia and one in Thailand. Findings are reported in three different studies. Study one reports findings based on the qualitative phase. Studies two and three report findings based on the quantitative data.
A qualitative approach involves five bank branches and conducting a series of in-depth interviews with branch managers and frontline staff. It identifies employee constructs that have a positive or a negative impact on branch ambidexterity. These constructs are goal orientation, self-efficacy, and role stress. The role of branch context is also discussed.
The quantitative approach involves data from 2,306 employees in 267 branches in a large Thai bank. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is used to analyze the data. The quantitative data are used to test two models. The first model explores the direct impact of employees’ characteristics on branch ambidexterity. It is found that goal orientation, self-efficacy, and role stress are significantly associated with branch ambidexterity. The inclusion of transformational leadership as a moderator provides additional insights into the relationship between employee characteristics and branch ambidexterity. The second model tests the direct impact of contextual variables on branch ambidexterity. The contextual variables include empowerment, team support, fairness of rewards, and transformational leadership. Finally, it explores the impact of branch ambidexterity on branch financial performance. Data suggest that all four contextual variables make significant positive contributions to branch ambidexterity at the individual level. However, only empowerment, team support, and fairness of rewards have a significant group-level effect on branch ambidexterity. It is also found that branch ambidexterity is positively related to branch financial performance.