Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

10-2008

Abstract

Because a firm’s optimal knowledge search behavior is determined by unique firm and industry conditions, organizational performance should be contingent on the degree to which a firm’s actual level of knowledge search deviates from the optimal level. It is thus hypothesized that deviation from the optimal search, in the form of either overexploitation or overexploration, is detrimental to organizational performance. Furthermore, the negative effect of search deviation on organizational performance varies with environmental dynamism; that is, overexploitation is expected to become more harmful, whereas overexploration becomes less so with an increase in environmental dynamism. The empirical analyses yield results consistent with these arguments. Implications for research and practice are correspondingly discussed.

Keywords

overexploitation/overexploration, consistency in search, environmental dynamism, organizational performance

Discipline

Organizational Behavior and Theory | Strategic Management Policy

Research Areas

Strategy and Organisation

Publication

Journal of Management

Volume

34

Issue

5

First Page

925

Last Page

951

ISSN

0149-2063

Identifier

10.1177/0149206308321547

Publisher

SAGE

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308321547

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