The Effect of Servant Leadership on Work Engagement: The Role of Employee Resilience and Organizational Support

Employees suffer from low resources in the workplace because of multiple work roles in project-based organization (PBO). Based on the conservation of resources theory (COR), this study identifies both employee resilience and organizational support as critical personal and job resources. It then examines how servant leadership enhances employee work engagement in PBO through the mediating roles of employee resilience and organizational support. This study uses a questionnaire-based quantitative research design to collect data from 437 employees in PBO. The collected data were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test hypotheses. The research findings indicate that servant leadership positively affects work engagement. Additionally, the relationship between servant leadership and work engagement is mediated by employee resilience and organizational support. This study deepens the understanding of how servant leadership promotes work engagement in PBO by providing personal and job resources. The findings deepen our understanding of how servant leadership enhances work engagement in PBO. The findings also provide implications for PBO to enhance sustainable well-being at work and organizational productivity.

How Does Hierarchy Steepness Affect Coordination in Project-Based Organizations? A Social Network Analysis

This study aims to reveal the impacts of hierarchy steepness on intraorganizational coordination in project-based organizations (PBOs) at both organizational and individual levels. We discovered that hierarchy steepness has a positive correlation with organizational coordination intensity but a negative correlation with an individual’s coordination power. A steeper hierarchy is beneficial for intraorganizational coordination so, averagely, an individual’s coordination power weakens in well-coordinated organizations. The findings refuted previous arguments that took hierarchy as an obstacle to coordination and proved the functionality of a steeper hierarchy. They suggest PBOs steepen the hierarchical structure to improve intraorganizational coordination.

Building dynamic capability through sequential ambidexterity: a case study of the transformation of a latecomer firm in China

Sequential ambidexterity is a specific dynamic capability which can play an important role in the technological catch-up of latecomer firms with limited knowledge and resources. Through a longitudinal case study, the trajectory of a latecomer firm's transformation from a generic technology manufacturer to a world-class innovator is analysed. This paper finds that sequential ambidexterity can be the basis of building dynamic capability, which enabled a latecomer to become a market leader through three major transitions. It shows how the building of dynamic capability through sequential ambidexterity is dependent on four mechanisms: senior manager cognition of the environment; organization learning orientation; organization structure design; and process reconfiguration. Building dynamic capability is also dependent on alignment between these mechanisms within the firm. Theoretically, the paper enhances understanding of the micro-foundations of developing dynamic capability through sequential ambidexterity. It also suggests that three contingent dimensions in determining the optimal approach to ambidexterity are: (i) industry leading versus catch-up firms, (ii) the scale of the firm, and (iii) the diversity of the downstream market. Furthermore, the paper provides practical insights for latecomer firms seeking to catch-up with industry leaders.

In Praise of Paradox Persistence: Evidence from the Sydney Opera House Project

Organizational paradoxes persist. In their persistence, they resist closure; we demonstrate how, by using an exemplary project, that of the construction of the Sydney Opera House. By analyzing paradoxes encountered in the construction of a notable contemporary architectural project, we discuss how dialogical interactions enable options to emerge in the form of responses that were not previously evident. Engaging paradoxes dialogically requires accepting rather than denying contradictions, meaning that rather than resolving them in favor of one pole or the other, the contradictions remain in play. Monologic interactions—favoring dominant and singular voices, rather than producing consensus—repress dissent, leading to conflict, through suppressing paradox.