Unlocking the "Both/And" Black Box: Exploring Universal Strategies for Integrating Contradictory Opposites

Associate Professor Li Xin, Newcastle University

Date:November 14, 2024 (Thursday)

Time:15:00-17:00 PM

Venue: Tencent Meeting Room 347 470 332

Host: Associate Professor CHU Dazhi, College of Management, SZU

Abstract

Literature on organizational paradoxes highlights the importance of balancing and integrating between opposing poles. Scholars in organization and management have proposed various ways to integrate paradoxes, such as ambidexterity, yin-yang balancing, zhong-yong middle-way, and transcendence. Although all are categorized as "both/and," they differ significantly (although there are also some similarities). This study proposes a SMART framework that can be used not only to organize and understand these proposals in the literature but also as a universal theoretical framework to identify and accommodate other potential universal schemes. Additionally, the study presents a decision-making model for choosing strategies in response to contradictory paradox situations based on specific internal and external contexts.

Speaker's Biography

Dr. Li Xin is currently an Associate Professor (tenured) at the Business School of Newcastle University in the UK, and was previously an Assistant Professor at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. His research areas include corporate strategy, international business, management paradoxes, and indigenous Chinese management research. He has published over thirty articles in both Chinese and English in academic journals such as "Journal of Management," "Nankai Management Review International Edition," "Foreign Economics & Management," "Chinese Culture and Management," "Academy of Management Review," "Management and Organization Review," "Asia Pacific Journal of Management," "Journal of Management Inquiry," "Asia Pacific Business Review," and "Cross Cultural & Strategic Management." He has also presented over fifty conference papers at international academic conferences such as AOM, AIB, SMS, EGOS, and IACMR. Li Xin serves as a reviewer for several renowned international management journals. In 2015, he received a research grant of 1.32 million Danish kroner from the Carlsberg Foundation in Denmark to conduct independent research on the international catch-up phenomenon of Chinese latecomer firms.

All interested facultyand studentsare welcome to attend!