Received: 22 September 2020 Revised: 8 April 2021 Accepted: 13 April 2021

DOI: 10.1002/joe.22090

APPLIED RESEARCH

High-involvement human resource practices and their

impact on organizational ambidexterity: The mediating role
of employees’ ambidextrous behaviors

Dina Farouk Al-Agry

Business Administration Department,

Faculty of Commerce, Al-Azhar Abstract
University, Cairo, Egypt Many studies have shown that HR practices have a positive impact on organiza-
Correspondence
tional ambidexterity; however, few have examined both employees’ motivation
Dina Farouk Al-Agry, Faculty of for ambidexterity together with their ability to achieve it, and even fewer
Commerce, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, have concentrated on organizations in the nonprofit sector. Drawing on the
Egypt.
Email: [email protected] ability-motivation-opportunity framework, this study examines employees’
ambidextrous behaviors as mediator between high-involvement HR practices
and organizational ambidexterity. It addresses the lack of in-depth insights
by examining ambidexterity at both the individual and the firm level, and
addresses the lack of focus on nonprofit organizations by undertaking the study
in a leading nonprofit hospital in Egypt. Based on a sample of 130 healthcare
personnel, the results show that a “bundle” of high-involvement HR prac-
tices is positively related to organizational ambidexterity, and that employees’
ambidextrous behaviors mediate the relationship between high-involvement HR
practices and organizational ambidexterity. The results also highlight the value
of high-involvement HR practices in encouraging employees’ ambidextrous
behavior through staffing, teamwork, and workgroup training, thus helping the
organization to achieve ambidexterity.

KEYWORDS
ambidextrous behaviors, high-involvement HR practices, human resource management, non-
profit organizations, organizational ambidexterity

1 INTRODUCTION opportunities with equal dexterity (Lubatkin et al., 2006).

Considerable research has found that human resource
Organizational ambidexterity is considered a crucial practices have a positive impact on organizational
antecedent of organizational success as it has a positive ambidexterity (e.g., Chang et al., 2009; Jansen et al., 2008,
impact on organization’s short- and long-term perfor- 2009; O’Reilly & Tushman, 2011; Patel et al., 2013; Prieto &
mance (Cao et al., 2009; He & Wong, 2004; Junni et al., Santana, 2012); however, few studies have clearly focused
2013; Laureiro-Martinez et al., 2014; Levinthal & March, on the role of human resource practices and systems in
1993; March, 1991; O’Reilly & Tushman, 2008). Organi- organizational ambidexterity. In 2015, Junni et al. called
zational ambidexterity refers to an organization’s ability for a shift in research from whether human resource
to exploit existing competencies as well as explore new practices influence organizational ambidexterity towards

GBOE. 2021;40:23–36. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joe © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC 23

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24 AL-AGRY

EXH IBIT 1 Research framework.

a comprehensive understanding of when and how human & Mihalache, 2016; Phene et al., 2012; Prieto-Pastor &
resource practices affect organizational ambidexterity Martin-Perez, 2014; Tempelaar & Van de Vrande, 2012)
through expanding the range of moderators that are while nonprofit organizations are overlooked. The lack
examined. of focus on nonprofit organizations creates a gap in
This article responds to that call and attempts to address the literature. The present study addresses this gap by
this gap by examining not only employees’ motivation for examining organizational ambidexterity in a successful
ambidexterity, but also their ability to achieve it. More nonprofit organization to provide recommendations and
specifically, it aims to assess the indirect link between insights for struggling organizations of this type.
human resource practices and organizational ambidexter- By examining the relationship between high-
ity through examining the extent to which the adoption of involvement HR practices and employees’ ambidextrous
effective, comprehensive, high-involvement HR practices behaviors as well as its impact on organizational ambidex-
are likely to promote an environment that helps to cre- terity in a nonprofit context, the study at hand closes
ate an ambidextrous workforce, which then reflects on the three major research gaps: the first is associated with
organization ability to become ambidextrous. For exam- the role of human resource practices and systems in
ple, the selection and reinforcement of initiative employ- organizational ambidexterity, since this study focuses on
ees with training programs could improve their ability for examining when and how high-involvement HR practices
ambidexterity and hence improve the overall organiza- affect organizational ambidexterity rather than focusing
tion’s ambidexterity. solely on its positive/negative impact; the second relates
The second gap in the empirical research, which is being to the level of analysis by adopting a multilevel approach
addressed through the current paper, is the lack of in- of analysis rather than a single one; and the third is
depth insights of ambidexterity since it has been examined concerned with the absence of nonprofit organizations in
mainly at the organizational level (Birkinshaw & Gupta, the study of organizational ambidexterity by examining
2013; Caniels & Veld, 2016; Junni et al., 2013, 2015; Zacher organizational ambidexterity in a successful nonprofit
et al., 2014). Based on this, the current study provides a organization.
multilevel understanding of ambidexterity through exam- A conceptual model was developed. The study proposed
ining it at both the individual and the firm levels of analy- that the three domains of high-involvement HR practices
sis. facilitate organizational ambidexterity through employees’
Created to serve the public good, the principal focus ambidextrous behaviors. These relationships are depicted
of nonprofit organizations is on fulfilling their mission in Exhibit 1. A series of research hypotheses that describes
(Hansmann, 1980). The funding of those organizations the relationships among the constructs are proposed and
comes from different sources including corporate and indi- examined with data collected from healthcare employees
vidual donations, and government grants (Howard, 2013). working in a nonprofit leading children’s cancer hospital
To maintain their sustainability, nonprofit organizations in Egypt and the Middle East.
need to master ambidexterity. The remainder of this paper is structured as follows: the
Literature shows that a growing supportive body of next section introduces the development of the research
research emphasizes the connection between organiza- hypotheses and model. The method section provides
tional ambidexterity and for-profit organizations (Caniels details about the sample, data collection, and measures.
et al., 2016; Fu et al., 2015; Hill & Birkinshaw, 2014; Subsequent sections present findings & discussion, limita-
Kammerlander et al., 2015; Lin & Ho, 2016; Mihalache tions, implications, and potential research.
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AL-AGRY 25

2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND initiative, cooperation, brokering skills, and multitask-

HYPOTHESES ing abilities (Birkinshaw & Gibson, 2004). The current
research will focus on the two interdependent behaviors
2.1 High-involvement HR practices and namely initiative that refers to being alert to emerging
employees’ ambidextrous behaviors opportunities and suggesting ideas that are aligned with
organizational objectives (Ghoshal & Bartlett, 1994; Scott
The introduction of new management practices that & Bruce, 1994) and cooperation that refers to the degree
enhance organizational performance became a trend to which employees are willing to integrate efforts with
(Boselie et al., 2005; Perello-Marin et al., 2013). The one another to achieve organizational objectives (Lee &
academic literature describes these practices differently, Choi, 2003; Prieto-Pastor, & Martin-Perez, 2014). Since
for example, innovative HR practices (Boselie et al., antecedents of employees’ ambidextrous behaviors are still
2005; Chang et al., 2011; Marchington & Grugulis, 2000), of much concern, and scholars continue to call for addi-
high-commitment HR practices (McClean & Collins tional research in that field (Caniels & Veld, 2016; Junni
2011), high-involvement HR practices (Benson el al., et al., 2013; Prieto & Santana, 2012), this article responds
2006; Lawler et al., 1995), and high-performance HR to that call and attempts to address this gap by examining
practices (Guest et al., 2004; Way, 2002; Wood et al., 2012; the impact of high-involvement HR practices on employ-
Zatzick & Iverson, 2006). High-involvement HR practices ees’ ambidextrous behaviors.
is considered one of the most important contemporary It has been argued in the literature that high-
management approaches. These practices become high involvement HR practices (staffing, training, compensa-
value-added parts of organizations (Lawler, 2003) as they tion, performance appraisal, work design, participation)
are concerned with gathering intelligence, ideas, and may encourage employees to take the initiative to address
motivation of employees (Prieto & Santana (2012). new issues, and to cooperate and achieve organizational
One of the most comprehensive definitions of high- goals (Collins & Smith, 2006; Ghoshal & Bartlett, 1994).
involvement HR practices indicates that it is a set Song et al. (2020) argue that the climate of involve-
of distinct but interrelated practices geared towards ment created by high-involvement HR practices provide
improving organizational effectiveness and achieving a employees with power, reward, and knowledge, and
sustainable competitive advantage through the selection, hence will encourage them to come up with creative
development, retainment, and motivation of employees ideas and take initiatives. In addition, Úbeda-García et al.
who possess superior abilities and who are willing to apply (2017) argued that HR flexibility (skill flexibility, behav-
their abilities in their work-related activities (Way, 2002). ior flexibility, and practices flexibility) that depends on
In health care, high-involvement HR practices are con- employees’ management practices affects organizations’
sidered a significant part of a hospital’s logic, which aims to ability to undertake exploration and exploitation processes
boost humanistic values, including autonomy and control simultaneously through encouraging employees to come
over work, which result in improved patient care (Rondeau up with new ideas and generate new knowledge.
& Wagar, 2006). As an example of the impact of high-involvement HR
In the current paper, the researcher uses the bundle practices on employees’ ambidextrous behaviors, staffing
approach to high-involvement HR practices developed by ensures employees’ possession of the competencies needed
Prieto & Santana (2012) who grouped those practices into for applying new knowledge and searching for new ideas,
three main domains: (1) ability-enhancing that focuses on it also ensures hiring employees with similar skills, knowl-
influencing employees’ knowledge, skills, and capabilities edge, and learning experiences that enhance a working
and hence improving their ability to perform their jobs. It environment that facilitates the prevalence of cooperative
includes staffing and trainings practices, (2) motivation- behaviors among employees. Training, on the other hand,
enhancing, which focuses on increasing employees’ improves employees’ initiative abilities and builds the con-
commitment to the organization and colleagues, and fidence needed for experimenting with new ideas; in addi-
on enhancing them. It includes both compensation and tion, training programs such as teamwork and workgroup
performance appraisal, and (3) opportunity-enhancing, skills facilitate employees’ balance of their individual atti-
which focuses on the definition of jobs, and the use of tudes and create a vision of cooperation.
extensive employee participation and communication. It A compensation scheme that is built on encouraging ini-
includes both work design and participation. tiatives makes employees more confident and reduces their
Employees’ ambidextrous behaviors refer to ability to anxiety when addressing new issues (Hayton, 2005); while
practice exploration—the discovery of new knowledge— equity-based compensation systems that reward employ-
and exploitation—the ability to broaden existing know- ees according to their individual and group contribution
ledge—simultaneously (Mom et al., 2009), it includes boost employees’ cooperative work. Outcome-oriented
 19322062, 2021, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joe.22090 by Islamia University, Wiley Online Library on [18/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
26 AL-AGRY

performance appraisal encourages initiatives through E X H I B I T 2 Comparison between constructs of exploration

showing tolerance for failure (Morris & Jones, 1993), while and exploitation (Blarr, 2012, p.61)
team-based performance appraisals encourage employees Criterion Exploration Exploitation
to cooperate, share knowledge, resources, ideas, and effec- Definition Radical developments Incremental
tively achieve organizational goals. Flexible job design to meet needs of development
facilitates initiative behaviors, in addition, it intensifies emerging customers designed to meet the
physical proximity and hence increases employees’ chance needs of existing
customers
to interact and cooperate (Kase et al., 2009). Participation
in decision making increases the chance that employees Tasks Search, Refinement, efficiency,
experimentation, implementation,
interact, search out new knowledge, and share existing
variation, flexibility execution
knowledge. In the light of the reasoning set out above, the
Knowledge New knowledge, Existing knowledge
following hypothesis is developed:
base departing from
existing knowledge
Hypothesis 1. High-involvement HR practices have
Outcomes Development of new Improvements to
a significant direct effect on employees’ ambidex- competencies existing
trous behaviors. competencies
Strategic Innovation, growth, Profits, costs, efficiency
intent adaptability
2.2 High-involvement HR practices and Time Long term Short term
organizational ambidexterity horizon

A growing number of studies argue that organizational

ambidexterity is crucial to organizational survival and
prosperity, and for sustaining the organization’s competi- implementation, and execution to serve current markets
tive advantage (Junni et al., 2013; March, 1991). The term and existing distribution channels (Abernathy & Clark,
“organizational ambidexterity” was first introduced to lit- 1985; Benner & Tushman, 2003; Holmqvist, 2003; Jansen
erature by Duncan (1976) who focused on initiating and et al., 2005). It is associated with control and bureaucracy,
executing innovation. Afterwards, in 1991, March sug- mechanistic structure, routinization, tightly coupled sys-
gested the concepts of exploitation and exploration, built tems (He & Wang, 2004). A comprehensive comparison
on organizational learning theory. The definition of the between the two constructs is shown in Exhibit 2.
construct is still ambiguous and vague due to the differ- Simsek et al. (2009) suggested the following four pos-
ent contexts in which it has been applied (Birkinshaw sible ways to strike the balance between exploration and
& Gupta, 2013; Mihalache & Mihalache, 2016; Turner exploitation by achieving one of the following: (1) cyclical
et al., 2013). However, organizational ambidexterity can be ambidexterity, (2) reciprocal ambidexterity, (3) harmonic
defined as "the organization’s ability of exploiting exist- ambidexterity, and (4) partitional ambidexterity. The lit-
ing competencies as well as exploring new opportunities erature also presented two major types of organizational
with equal dexterity" (Lubatkin et al., 2006, p. 647). In ambidexterity; the first one is structural ambidexterity that
other words, the term reflects the ability of the organiza- refers to an organizational design or form containing sep-
tion to effectively manage the tension between exploita- arate structural subunits equipped with either exploration
tion and exploration, and pursue both simultaneously to or exploitation activities (Christensen, 1997). The second
enhance performance and achieve organizational success one is contextual ambidexterity that refers to "the behav-
(He & Wong, 2004; Junni et al., 2013; Lin & Ho, 2016; ioral capacity to simultaneously demonstrate alignment
Zimmermann et al., 2015). and adaptability across an entire business unit" (Gibson &
Exploration reflects the organization’s ability to dis- Birkinshaw, 2004, p. 209). The current study focuses on
cover unique knowledge that can lead to new designs, new examining factors that support contextual ambidexterity
markets, new distribution channels, and ultimately cash through the creation of a supportive organizational con-
flow (Benner & Tushman, 2003; Jansen et al., 2005). It is text that encourages employees to practice explorative and
associated with autonomy and chaos, organic structure, exploitative activities simultaneously.
improvisation, and loosely coupled systems. On the other Antecedents of organizational ambidexterity are still of
hand, exploitation reflects the organization’s ability to much concern, and scholars continue to call for additional
broaden existing knowledge, reinforce existing skills, research in that field (Gurtner & Reinhardt, 2016; Lavie
process, and structure, and ultimately generate profits et al., 2010; Nosella et al., 2012; Raisch & Birkinshaw,
in the short run by focusing on refinement, efficiency, 2008; Turner et al., 2013). High-involvement HR practices
 19322062, 2021, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joe.22090 by Islamia University, Wiley Online Library on [18/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
AL-AGRY 27

present a potential firm-level competency that promotes Based on the previous discussion, it can be assumed that
organizational ambidexterity and growth (Patel et al., employees’ initiatives to experiment new techniques, gen-
2013). According to Úbeda-García et al. (2018), high erate new ideas, cooperate, and share knowledge not only
performance work systems (i.e., comprehensive staffing, improve exploration activities of the organization; but it
extensive training, development performance appraisal, also encourages leaders to adopt changes and invest in
and an equitable reward system) are considered important the implementation of those ideas (exploitation activities)
antecedents of organizational ambidexterity since their (Cohen & Levinthatl, 1990; Raisch & Birkinshaw, 2008).
adoption facilitates the creation of a working context that Hence, it can be seen that both exploration and exploita-
supports organizational ambidexterity through improving tion benefit from employees’ ambidextrous behaviors. In
employees’ ability to efficiently exploit existing knowledge the light of the reasoning set out above, the following
and effectively explore new ones. The researchers proved hypothesis is developed:
through their study that high performance work systems
directly explain 46% of organizational ambidexterity Hypothesis 3. Employees’ ambidextrous behaviors
variance. have a significant direct effect on organizational
High-involvement HR practices consist of a set of ambidexterity.
comprehensive practices that work in harmony to create
an organizational context that improves employees’
ability to exploit existing market realities and explore new 2.4 High-involvement HR practices and
opportunities (Fu et al., 2015; Garaus et al., 2015; Gibson organizational ambidexterity, the
& Birkinshaw, 2004; Kang & Snell, 2009; Patel et al., 2013, mediating role of employees’ ambidextrous
Úbeda-García et al., 2017). The fundamental elements of behaviors
this context according to Gibson and Birkinshaw (2004)
are discipline, stretch, support, and trust. Both discipline Research has shown that high-involvement HR prac-
and stretch play a pivotal role in achieving alignment tices increase employees’ willingness to adopt behav-
with existing opportunities while support and trust assist iors that contribute to organizational success (Huselid,
on improving organization ability to chase new oppor- 1995). Employees’ ambidextrous behaviors (taking initia-
tunities. High-involvement HR practices that create an tives, and Cooperation) as an example are expected to
alignment context include job analysis, job-based staffing, be positively affected by high-involvement HR practices
performance appraisal, incentive-based compensation, through improving employees’ abilities, motivations, and
and training programs. On the other hand, the elements opportunities to create knowledge, generate benefits to
of high-involvement HR practices that create an adaptive their organizations, and display innovative work behav-
context include job security provisions, participation, and iors and hence behave ambidextrously (Argote et al.,
information sharing (Patel et al., 2013). In the light of 2003; Kang et al., 2007; Kase et al., 2009). Both ini-
the reasoning set out above, the following hypothesis is tiatives and cooperation will then result on improving
developed: organizational ambidexterity (Birkinshaw & Gibson, 2004;
Ghoshal & Bartlett, 1994; Kang et al., 2007). In the light
of the reasoning set out above, the following hypothesis is
Hypothesis 2. High-involvement HR practices have a developed:
significant effect on organizational ambidexterity.
Hypothesis 4. Employees’ ambidextrous behav-
iors mediate the relationship between high-
2.3 Employees’ ambidextrous behaviors involvement HR practices and organizational
and organizational ambidexterity ambidexterity.

Managers of ambidexterity who seek to reach a balance

between exploration and exploitation should work on cre- 3 METHODOLOGY
ating a supportive context that triggers the ambidextrous
behaviors of employees (Gibson & Birkinshaw, 2004; Kang 3.1 Research setting, data collection,
et al., 2007; Mom et al., 2007; Prieto-Pastor & Martin-Pérez, and sample
2014; Raisch et al., 2009). Initiative and cooperation as the
main characteristics of employees’ ambidextrous behav- Data was obtained from one of the leading legal inde-
iors are coherently aligned with exploration and exploita- pendent non-profit healthcare organizations in Egypt
tion (Prieto-Pastor & Martin-Pérez, 2014). and the Middle East (Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt
 19322062, 2021, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joe.22090 by Islamia University, Wiley Online Library on [18/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
28 AL-AGRY

EXH IBIT 3 Sample characteristics 3.2 Measures

Dimension Category Percentage
Job category Medical 25% The predictor variable in the present study is high-
Nursing 50% involvement HR practices, the mediating variable is
Administrative 25% employees’ ambidextrous behaviors, while organizational
Age Less than 30 15% ambidexterity is the outcome variable. Employees were
30–39 57%
asked to express their level of agreement with each state-
ment on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly
40–49 24%
disagree to 5 = strongly agree.
50+ 4%
High-involvement HR practices were measured using
Gender Male 53%
items adapted from the instrument proposed by Prieto
Female 47% et al. (2012). High-involvement HR practices measure-
Years of experience Less than 5 15% ment assessed the three main domains of HR practices:
6–10 39% (1) ability-enhancing practices were assessed using items
11–15 35% that measure careful staffing, and continuous and exten-
16 Y+ 11% sive training (α = 0.97), (2) motivation-enhancing practices
were assed using items that measure compensation, which
commit the employee to the company and to his/her col-
57357) widely known as Hospital 57357. The institution leagues, and performance appraisal aimed not to control
was established in 2007 by donations from Egyptians but to enhance employees (α = 0.93), and (3) opportunity-
and Arabs and was inspired by the model of the St. Jude enhancing practices were assessed using items that mea-
Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in the United sure work design, and the use of extensive employee par-
States. It is one of the largest children’s hospitals in the ticipation and empowerment (α = 0.96). Overall, 29 items
world in terms of capacity (320 beds) with a vision of being were used to measure these practices, with an overall reli-
a unique worldwide icon of change towards a cancer-free ability (α = 0.95).
childhood (57357, n.d.). Employees’ ambidextrous behaviors were measured
Its mission is to provide care for all children with can- using an instrument developed by Prieto-Pastor & Martin-
cer, free of charge and without discrimination. The hos- Perez (2014). Initiative was measured using five items (α
pital has developed a healthcare system that utilizes up = 0.93) while cooperation was assessed by four items (α =
to date scientific approaches, which is reflected by the 0.86). The overall reliability of this scale is (α = 0.90).
overall survival rates that have jumped from 40% to 73% Organizational ambidexterity was measured using
during its 11 years of operation. The hospital offers its instrument developed by Bodwell (2011). Exploration
patients a wide range of the most up-to-date diagnostics was assed using eight items (α = 0.851), and exploitation
and treatment services including chemotherapy, radiother- was assessed using eight items (α = 0.809). The overall
apy, surgery, bone marrow transplant, multi-disciplinary reliability of this scale is (α = 0.82), while the overall
clinics, physical rehabilitation, socio-psychological care, reliability of the instrument is (α = 0.886).
palliative care, survivorship care, and in-house schooling
(57357, n.d.).
Data for this study was collected through questionnaires 4 RESULTS
distributed in person by the HR department. The signifi-
cance of the survey, information about confidentiality and 4.1 Descriptive statistics
academic usage, were emphasized to participants; techni-
cal terms, the way to fill in the form. The sample consisted Exhibit 4 presents means, standard deviations, and cor-
of 130 healthcare personnel. An interview was undertaken relations of the scales. The results of the study showed
with the Chief Operating Officer, the Human Resources an agreement on the hospital’s implementation of high-
Consultant to the Group Chief Executive Officer, and the involvement HR practices (mean = 4.91), employees’ prac-
HR Manager to ensure that all the questionnaire items tice of initiative and cooperation (employees’ ambidex-
were understood and that the terms are those used by hos- trous behaviors: mean = 4.75), and the hospital’s ability to
pital employees; based on their insights and suggestions, discover unique knowledge and broaden its existing one
some modifications were made. (organizational ambidexterity: mean = 4.83).
A total of 126 complete and valid questionnaires were On the other hand, Correlation analysis showed
retrieved with an effective response rate of 97%. Exhibit 3 that high-involvement HR Practices positively relate
contains a summary of the sample’s characteristics. to employees’ ambidextrous behaviors (r = 0.922), and
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AL-AGRY 29

EXH IBIT 4 Means, standard deviations, and correlations 5.2 Structural model and hypotheses
testing (path analysis)
Scales Means SD 1 2 3
1. High-involvement 4.91 1.12 1 To test the hypothesized relationships among latent vari-
HR practices ables, and the direction and intensity of causal effects
2. Employees’ 4.75 1.06 0.922** 1 between these variables, path analysis presented in
ambidextrous Exhibit 6 was performed.
behaviors As can be seen in Exhibit 6, initiative was significantly
3. Organizational 4.83 1.09 0.779** 0.851** 1 related to ability enhancing HR practices (β = 0.90, p =
ambidexterity
.01), motivation enhancing HR practices (β = 0.92, p =
Note: ** p < .01. .01), opportunity enhancing HR practices (β = 0.91, p =
.01), exploration (β = 0.64, p = .01), and exploitation (β
= 0.53, p = .01). Cooperation was significantly related to
ability enhancing HR practices (β = 0.88, p = .01), motiva-
organizational ambidexterity (r = 0.779), and that tion enhancing HR practices (β = 0.90, p = .01), opportu-
employees’ ambidextrous behaviors positively relate to nity enhancing HR practices (β = 0.87, p = .01), and explo-
organizational ambidexterity (r = 0.851). ration (β = 0.56, p = .01). Exploitation had a marginally
Demographic variables were excluded from further non-significant association with cooperation (β = 0.25, p =
analysis due to their insignificant effect on the dependent .052).
variables within the model. Exhibit 7 shows that high-involvement HR practices
affect employees’ ambidextrous behaviors with a path coef-
ficient of 0.92 (Hypothesis 1) and organizational ambidex-
5 STRUCTURE EQUATION terity with a path coefficient of 0.59 (Hypothesis 2).
MODELING Employees’ ambidextrous behaviors affect organizational
ambidexterity with a path coefficient of 0.42 (Hypothesis
5.1 Confirmatory factor analysis 3). Also, high-involvement HR practices indirectly affect
organizational ambidexterity via employees’ ambidextrous
To test the observed variables’ ability to identify the under- behaviors with a path coefficient of 0.386. The simul-
lying hypothesized constructs (also called latent variables), taneous (total) effect of high-involvement HR practices
confirmatory factor analysis was done using AMOS 24. and employees’ ambidextrous behaviors on organizational
Results indicated that observed variables of the same con- ambidexterity is 0.976 (Hypothesis 4).
struct strongly related to one another, and that the three High-involvement HR practices in the structural model
scales of the current research (high-involvement HR prac- explained 79% of the variance in employees’ ambidextrous
tices, employees’ ambidextrous behaviors, and organiza- behaviors, and the latter explained 48% of the variance in
tional ambidexterity) fit the data well (Exhibit 5). organizational ambidexterity.

EXH IBIT 5 Confirmatory factor analysis

High-involvement Employees’ ambidextrous Organizational
HR practices behaviors ambidexterity
Scales/indices Est. TH. Est. TH. Est. TH.
2
χ 12.802 22.852 19.632
df 8 12 13
Χ2 /df 1.600 1–3 1.904 1–3 1.510 1–3
CFI 0.995 >0.95 0.964 >0.95 0.980 >0.95
TLI 0.983 >0.90 0.973 >0.90 0.962 >0.90
GFI 0.988 >0.90 0.977 >0.90 0.964 >0.90
RMSEA 0.034 <0.06 0.039 <0.06 0.029 <0.06
Result Excellent Excellent Excellent
Note: N = 135.
Abbreviations: CFI, comparative fit index; df, degrees of freedom; Est., estimate; GFI, goodness of fit index; RMSEA, root mean square error of approximation;
TH., threshold; TLI, Tucker Lewis index; χ2 , chi-square discrepancy; χ2 /df, difference in chi-square.
 19322062, 2021, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joe.22090 by Islamia University, Wiley Online Library on [18/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
30 AL-AGRY

E X H I B I T 6 Path analysis model. Abbreviations: EABs, employees’ ambidextrous behaviors; HIHRPs, high involvement HR practices;
OA, organizational ambidexterity. ** p < 0.01.

EXH IBIT 7 High-involvement HR practices on organizational ambidexterity via employees’ ambidextrous behaviors
Indices Est. TH. Result Direct effect Indirect effect Total effect t value
2
χ 8.675 Excellent
df 5
Χ2 /df 1.735 1–3
CFI 0.972 >0.95
TLI 0.953 >0.90
GFI 0.952 >0.90
RMSEA 0.034 <0.06
Paths:
HIHRPs → EABs 0.92 20.56**
HIHRPs → OA 0.59 14.75**
EABs → OA 0.42 19.60**
HIHRPs → EABs → OA 0.3864 0.976
Note: N = 135, **p < .01.
Abbreviations: CFI, comparative fit index; df, degrees of freedom; EABs, employees’ ambidextrous behaviors; Est., estimate; GFI, goodness of fit index; HIHRPs,
high involvement HR practices; OA, organizational ambidexterity; RMSEA, root mean square error of approximation; TH., threshold; TLI, Tucker Lewis index;
χ2 , chi-square discrepancy; χ2 /df, difference in chi-square.

The overall results of the structural model presented in 6 DISCUSSION

Exhibit 7, which specified full mediation of employees’
ambidextrous behaviors in the relationship between This study examined the mediating role of employees’
high-involvement HR practices and organizational ambidextrous behaviors in the relationship between high-
ambidexterity, provided a good fit to the data as the fit involvement HR practices and organizational ambidex-
indices were within the recommended values (χ2 = 8.675, terity. The findings demonstrate that high-involvement
p < .01., CFI = 0.972, TLI = 0.953, GFI = 0.952, RMSEA = HR practices are associated with higher levels of employ-
0.034). ees’ ambidextrous behaviors. Employees’ ambidextrous
 19322062, 2021, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joe.22090 by Islamia University, Wiley Online Library on [18/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
AL-AGRY 31

behaviors are positively associated with organizational consistent with findings of many studies that showed
ambidexterity. Finally, the relationship between high- the positive role of cooperation in improving exploration
involvement HR practices and organizational ambidexter- activities of the organization (Cohen & Levinthatl, 1990;
ity is fully mediated through the employees’ ambidextrous Collins & Smith, 2006; Ghoshal & Bartlett, 1994; Raisch &
behaviors. Birkinshaw, 2008).
Results demonstrated that well-developed staffing
practices ensure that hiring employees with similar skills,
6.1 Mediation by initiative knowledge, and learning experiences will facilitate their
cooperation. Similarly, teamwork and workgroup training
The results indicated that high-involvement HR prac- programs disseminate a vision of cooperation. Equity-
tices predicted organizational ambidexterity through the based compensation systems boost employees’ cooperative
mediating effect of employees’ ambidextrous behaviors work. While team-based performance appraisals, flexible
(initiative and cooperation). In other words, as the organi- job designs, and participation in decision making encour-
zation improves its ability-enhancing practices (staffing, age employees’ interaction and cooperation. Employees’
training), motivation-enhancing practices (compensation, cooperation, in turn, improves the organization’s ability
performance appraisal), and opportunity-enhancing to discover unique knowledge that leads to a better
practices (work design, participation), the propensity performance.
that employees will become more alert to emerging Unexpectedly, it was found that employees’ cooperation
opportunities and suggesting ideas that are aligned with did not contribute significantly to the prediction of orga-
organizational objectives increases as well, which in turn, nizational exploitation, which is contrary to the correla-
will improve the organization’s ability to exploit existing tion found in previous studies (Cohen & Levinthatl, 1990;
competencies as well as exploring new opportunities with Collins & Smith, 2006; Ghoshal & Bartlett, 1994; Raisch &
equal dexterity. Birkinshaw, 2008).
To better understand, improving staffing practice
ensures employees’ possession of competencies needed
for applying new knowledge and searching for new ideas. 6.3 Implications
On the other hand, effective training programs improve
employees’ initiative abilities, while a compensation The current study has contributions to the literature
scheme that is built on encouraging initiative makes and practical implications for non-profit health services.
employees more confident when addressing new issues. Theoretically, this study contributes to strategic HRM and
Outcome-oriented performance appraisal encourages organizational ambidexterity literature in general, and to
initiatives through showing tolerance to failure (Morris & high-involvement HR practices, initiative, and coopera-
Jones, 1993). Flexible job designs and participation facil- tion literature more specifically. First, existing research
itate initiative behaviors. Employees’ initiatives, in turn, that examines HRM factors and their impact on organiza-
benefit both organizational exploration and exploitation tional ambidexterity has focused on strategic HRM such
activities. as high-commitment human resource practices and high-
This is consistent with prior research, which showed the performance human resource practices; however, research
positive role of initiative not only in improving exploration that examines high-involvement HR practices and their
activities of the organization; but also, in encouraging lead- role in organizational ambidexterity is limited. Despite the
ers to adopt changes and invest on the implementation of overlap between the three constructs (high-commitment
those ideas (Argote et al., 2003; Cohen & Levinthatl, 1990; human resource practices, high-performance human
Gibson & Birkinshaw, 2004; Kang et al., 2007; Kase et al., resource practices, and high-involvement HR practices),
2009; Mom et al., 2007; Raisch & Birkinshaw, 2008; Raisch it is important to examine their impact separately since
et al., 2009). they are configured by different HR practices. Hence, this
study used the ability-motivation-opportunity framework
to examine the role of high-involvement HR practices in
6.2 Mediation by cooperation organizational ambidexterity.
Second, and related to the above, research on high-
Findings of the current study revealed that cooperation involvement HR practices mostly focuses on its impact
played a significant mediating role in the impact of high- on organizational outcomes. Little attention is given to
involvement HR practices (ability-enhancing practices, the causal chain by considering the mediating variables.
motivation enhancing practices, and opportunity- Hence, this study represents a step forward to fill this void
enhancing practices) on exploration activity. This is by explaining the role of employees’ ambidextrous
 19322062, 2021, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joe.22090 by Islamia University, Wiley Online Library on [18/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
32 AL-AGRY

behaviors in the causal pathways between high- that focus mainly on its employees rather than R&D
involvement HR practices and organizational ambidexter- departments to achieve ambidexterity. Hence, if achieving
ity. The findings of the study showed that the bundle of organizational ambidexterity is a top priority for managers,
high-involvement HR practices is seen as an antecedent then they should focus on shaping employees’ behaviors
of organizational ambidexterity through its ability to through adopting selective high-involvement HR practices
enhance or limit employees’ ambidextrous behaviors. that allow employees to notice emerging opportunities,
By investigating and finding support for the mediating suggest new ideas and integrate efforts to boost organiza-
role of employees’ ambidextrous behaviors, this study tional ambidexterity.
contributes to our existing knowledge by addressing the High-involvement HR practices that improve employ-
“black box” problem through bringing various aspects ees’ ability to act ambidextrously include, but are not lim-
of ambidexterity and HRM theory together in a single ited to, selective staffing practices, teamwork and work-
explanatory model. This model paves the way for new group training programs, compensation schemes built
research via the consideration of more comprehensive on encouraging initiative, equity-based compensation sys-
dimensions. tems, outcome-oriented performance appraisal and team-
Third, the current study shows that there is a lack of based performance appraisals, flexible job designs, and
in-depth insights into ambidexterity since the vast major- participation in decision making.
ity of earlier research has focused on examining organi-
zational ambidexterity at either the organizational level
(Birkinshaw & Gupta, 2013; Caniels & Veld, 2016; Junni 6.4 Limitations and future research
et al., 2013, 2015; Zacher et al., 2014), or the individual level
(Gurtner & Reinhardt 2016; Schnellbächer & Heidenreich, Despite theoretical contributions and managerial impli-
2020; Schnellbächer et al., 2019; Suh et al., 2019). This gap cations, the current study has some limitations that pave
in literature was addressed by using a multilevel approach the way for future research. First, since the sample was
to examine organizational ambidexterity and to provide a drawn solely from an Egyptian hospital and was highly
deeper understanding of the construct as it was analyzed homogeneous, it is in doubt whether the findings general-
at both the firm and individual levels. ize to other emerging and developed countries, and even
Fourth, this study enriches our contextual under- other organizations in the same country; hence, future
standing of organizational ambidexterity by studying research may examine the theoretical speculations in other
the construct in the context of highly reliable non- Egyptian organizations and other countries, concerning
profit organizations such as hospitals. prior research different characteristics of other contexts to see if these
on organizational ambidexterity comprised of for-profit findings apply to a broader population. Second, results
organizations including manufacturing, high technology were driven from the health sector and it could be valuable
firms, and financial services (Caniels et al., 2016; Fu et al., to perform comparative analysis in other sectors. Third,
2015; Hill & Birkinshaw, 2014; Kammerlander et al., 2015; the current study focused on specific high-involvement HR
Lin et al., 2016; Mihalache & Mihalache, 2016; Phene et al., practices; however, the examination of other HR practices
2012; Prieto-Pastor & Martin-Perez, 2014; Tempelaar & not included in the current study may provide a compre-
Van de Vrande, 2012) while nonprofit organizations were hensive explanation of the causal pathways between high-
overlooked. Since nonprofit organizations operate in an involvement HR practices and organizational ambidexter-
unstable environment this can led to their destabilization ity. Fourth, future research should consider other medi-
(Lam & McDougle, 2016; Weerawardena et al., 2010), ators to reach a clear understanding of the relationship
hence results of this study give insights on how to improve between high-involvement HR practices and organiza-
the ability of nonprofit organizations to achieve the bal- tional ambidexterity as this study focuses on examining
ance between exploration and exploitation, which could the mediating role of employees’ ambidextrous behaviors.
increase their ability to achieve organizational success Fifth, data was collected using self-reports, which may be
and long-term sustainability. associated with common bias. Despite the drawbacks of
From a practical stand point, results indicated that this technique, several benefits were obtained that justify
the positive perceptions of high-involvement HR prac- its use, especially in the case of ambidextrous behaviors
tices are significantly associated with higher levels of (Frese & Zapf, 1994). These benefits include employees’
employees’ ambidextrous behaviors and organizational ability to provide examples of their behaviors, detect
ambidexterity. This is important given that exploration differences in behavior as a reaction to certain situations,
and exploitation are essential for the survival and pros- and overcome general impressions across all behaviors
perity of the organizations. Moreover, the findings have and halo effect that raters fall in (Lance et al., 1992, 1994;
much importance for non-profit service organizations Parker & Collis, 2010). In addition, several procedural
 19322062, 2021, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joe.22090 by Islamia University, Wiley Online Library on [18/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
AL-AGRY 33

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nal of Management Review, 15(3), 317–332. https://doi.org/10.1111/ sity, Cairo, Egypt, with more than 13 years of experience
j.1468-2370.2012.00343.x in teaching, research, and service in Business Admin-
Úbeda-García, M., Claver-Cortés, E., Marco-Lajara, B., & Zaragoza- istration. She received her Master of Human Resource
Sáez, P. C. (2017). Human resource flexibility and performance Management from Rutgers, The State University of
in the hotel industry: The role of organizational ambidex-
New Jersey, USA, in 2012, and her PhD in Business
terity. Personnel Review, 46(4), 824–846. https://doi.org/10.1108/
Administration from Al-Azhar University, Egypt, in
PR-12-2015-0315
Úbeda-García, M., Claver-Cortés, E., Marco-Lajara, B., & Zaragoza- 2017. She won the Fulbright Scholarship in 2009 (Mas-
Sáez, P.C., García-Lillo, F. (2018). High performance work sys- ter’s Degree). Her research interests include HRM and
tem and performance: Opening the black box through the orga- organizational studies. Email: [email protected]
nizational ambidexterity and human resource flexibility. Journal
of Business Research, 88, 397–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.
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ate indicators of firm performance within the US small business How to cite this article: Al-Agry, D. F. (2021).
sector. Journal of Management, 28(6), 765–785. https://doi.org/10. High-involvement human resource practices and
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