Open AccessDesigning Organizations for Exploration and Exploitation
Author(s) -
Timothy N. Carroll
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of organization design
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.789
H-Index - 8
ISSN - 2245-408X
DOI - 10.7146/jod.1.2.6344
Subject(s) - knowledge management , face (sociological concept) , core (optical fiber) , industrial and organizational psychology , focus (optics) , strengths and weaknesses , process management , computer science , business , management science , engineering , management , economics , telecommunications , social science , philosophy , physics , epistemology , sociology , optics
All organizations face the core challenge of deciding on investments in two very different types of activities: exploration and exploitation. Exploration activities are future-oriented, such as developing new capabilities, experimenting with new technologies, and pursuing new customers and markets. Exploitation activities, in contrast, focus on the refinement of existing competencies, processes, and products. Because an organization’s design should reflect its goals, it is difficult to accommodate exploration and exploitation activities within a single organization. This article discusses four major approaches used to tackle this problem, and notes the strengths and limitations of each approach.