Session 07 Summary

BALANCING CREATIVITY AND CONTROL IN SCALING START-UPS Student Instructor Institution Course and Code Date Balancing Creativity and Control in Scaling Start-ups Introduction This summary discusses the dilemma of ambidexterity, particularly the control and development issues that arise as organizations evolve. The concept is illustrated using the real-life example of 6Wunderkinder, a company that develops the productivity application Wunderlist. The session explores the exploitation-exploration duality, where exploitation involves fine-tuning existing projects, and exploration is the pursuit of new opportunities that can be valuable in different conditions. The 6Wunderkinder case study provides practical insights into how to balance creativity and control in a growing organization. Significance of the Topic Single- or dual-presentation organizational ambidexterity is therefore essential to firms that seek to generate innovation and, at the same time, improve operational performance. This situation increases with firm size. This concept is most relevant to industries that tend to be very competitive and require regular updates; the best example is the tech sector. As firms grow, they are likely to begin using the bureaucratic and corporate strategies of decision-making that restrain innovation and innovation success factors (Gilinjov, 2024). Through ambidexterity, firms have the potential to gain competitive advantages by exploiting execution competencies as well as exploiting exploration competencies. It also improves a firm's ability to respond to changes in the market and increases employee morale by delegating innovation responsibilities to teams. Therefore, organizational ambidexterity can be strongly recommended as a strategic competitive advantage, which will determine the further development of enterprises. Main Themes and Critical Messages The major themes emerging from the session revolved around the tension between resource mobilization and resource acquisition in organizational planning. Clauss et al. (2021) posit that while exploitation implies building on practices and processes in the organization to improve them, exploration is about trying innovative methods in an organization. The experience of 6Wunderkinder shows how it is possible to have systems in place to encourage innovation when the company is growing. For example, the company maintained a start-up culture by tradem...