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How to support sensing capabilities in highly volatile situations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Erik J de Waard ,
Henk W Volberda  and
Joseph Soeters
Erik J de Waard
Affiliation:
Netherlands Defense Academy, Breda, The Netherlands
Henk W Volberda
Affiliation:
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Joseph Soeters
Affiliation:
Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
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Abstract

In the scholarly debate on how to deal with hypercompetition, a dominant logic has become that investing in ‘sensing’, ‘seizing’, and ‘transforming’ dynamic capabilities offers organization’s the potential to repetitively initiate business innovations. Actual research into the micro-foundations of these dynamic capabilities has been limited. This study explores whether modular organizing and lateral coordination are typical processes that support an organization’s sensing function. Empirically the study investigates how these two variables help The Netherlands armed forces to deal with its volatile crisis response environment. The findings show that both predictors stimulate the development of a broad knowledge base from which the organization can operationally benefit. Yet, the study has also uncovered that, when modularity's demand of organizational autonomy is not sufficiently satisfied, the organization becomes preoccupied with its own internal functioning at the expense of its external lateral sensing capacity.

Keywords

armed forcesdynamic capabilitieslateral coordinationmodular organizingsensing function
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , November 2012 , pp. 774 - 794
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2012

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