1. Simulation Tool to explore paradox management strategies
Project Lead: Dr Yancong Xie
Prior research has proposed several strategies to address paradoxes. Despite some causal examples of paradoxical strategies presented in the literature, we still have a limited understanding of what paradoxical strategies are and how to implement these paradoxical strategies in practice.This research project aims to develop a general simulation tool to support paradoxical strategy decisions. Industry practitioners can easily customize the simulation tool in their business contexts and test running different kinds of strategies in simulation games, without much front-end investment in design and experimentation. The simulation game results will be a reliable source of information for executives to make paradox-aware business decisions.Our research is pioneering in operationalising paradoxical strategies. It will bridge the academic wisdom on paradoxical strategies and industry practices.
2. Strategies for managing paradoxes
Project Lead: Dr Yancong Xie
Paradoxical tensions are the persistent contradictions between interdependent elements.Paradoxical tensions are ubiquitous in business and management activities, such as the tensions between stability and adaptability, exploration and exploitation, as well as individual actions and collective actions. Due to its interdependent nature,paradoxical tensions cannot be eliminated. However,they can be constructively and creatively addressed to allow for the co-existence of extremes by adopting paradoxical strategies. Although the literature has proposed several paradoxical strategies and has reported some practical examples of these strategies, our understanding of what paradoxical strategies are and how to implement paradoxical strategies is still very limited. This research project aims to clarify various paradoxical strategies and explore the features and applicability of these paradoxical strategies. This research project will produce a paradoxical strategy manual. This manual walks industry professionals through a systematic set of paradoxical strategies and instructs them on how to implement these strategies.This research is pioneering in operationalising paradoxical strategies. It will bridge the academic wisdom on paradoxical strategies and industry practices. It will arm organisations with a new set of tools to manage paradoxes and enable more intelligent and creative business decisions to achieve both/and conflicting goals, thus building strategic competitiveness in their industry sectors.
3. Navigating sustainability tensions in complex projects
Project Lead: Dr Anne Marie Halton
Project managers (PMs) face competing tensions between environmental, social, and economic considerations in their projects. These sustainability tensions encompass contradictory yet interrelated elements and can be seen as paradoxical e.g., tensions between realising a project’s economic benefits while at the same time investing in a sustainable supply chain to minimise environmental impact. PMs find it challenging to achieve both economic and environmental objectives simultaneously, a problem that becomes even more challenging in the context of complex projects. Meanwhile, recent studies have highlighted the potential of the Project Management Office (PMO) to foster sustainability in projects, yet the role of PM and PMO in navigating sustainability tensions is still unexplored. The current research project aims to uncover strategies to manage sustainability tensions in complex projects and to better understand the role of PMs and PMO in navigating these tensions. The study has three related research questions: (1) How do PMs navigate sustainability tensions in complex projects? (2) What is the role of PMO in supporting PMs to navigate sustainability tensions? (3) How do the joint efforts of PMs and PMO help navigate sustainability tensions in complex projects? This research project uniquely brings together the latest research on paradox management and sustainability in projects to explore approaches for navigating sustainability tensions in complex projects, focusing on two distinct actors – PMs and PMO. A key outcome will be a set of guidelines for PMs to develop their ability to navigate project sustainability tensions.
4. Fostering a Paradox Mindset
Project Lead: Dr Anne Marie Halton
Leaders of organisations today are facing a paradoxical environment, where they must navigate competing demands and contradictory pressures. Effective responses to these paradoxical tensions can be influenced by a multitude of factors, including a leader’s paradox mindset. A paradox mindset involves experiencing the paradoxical tensions and reframing those tensions from ‘either-or’ to ‘both-and’. Developing a paradox mindset is not a simple exercise as it requires a shift in how leaders think about and approach paradoxical tensions. Challenging and then changing existing assumptions can be a difficult and long-term process and may imply a learning journey, that requires time, effort and reflection. The current research project aims to propose and measure the impact of a novel pedagogical approach aimed to achieve paradox mindset development. Positioned in the context of executive education, the research project is well placed to help meet the need for emerging leaders to be future-ready through a holistic approach towards developing a paradox mindset. Outputs from the research project will include a novel, empirically-validated pedagogical approach, specifically developed for building a paradox mindset that will add both to paradox research and to the learning and development field. In addition, our ready-to-use intervention will help bridge the research-practice gap.