突破假设:走出探索与利用的管理困境

Breaking the Assumptions:Solutions to the Exploration and Exploitation Dilemma

美国管理学家马奇教授于1991年首次提出普遍存在于管理实践中的探索与利用的管理困境问题,而后引发了学术界大量文献的探讨,然而已有研究仍未提供走出困境的清晰方案.本文首先通过引入西方冲突管理理论中的双重关怀模型,将探索与利用之间的关系细化为回避矛盾、彼此适应、互相竞争、协同发展以及折中的妥协,突破马奇教授指出的探索与利用在组织内竞争稀缺资源的零和博弈的基本假设.随后,突破正交假设,运用中国古老的阴阳思想,进一步澄清了探索与利用在组织中是边界不清晰的存在形式,彼此相生相克、共生共灭.最后,突破静态假设,运用棋局思维,有效解决探索与利用行为的时机选择问题.通过以上三个针对困境问题默认理论假设的突破性论证,试图引导企业组织通过执行战略学习行为走出探索与利用的管理困境.

American management scholar Professor March indicated a Prevalent Phenomenon which he named as the exPloration and exPloitation dilemma in Practices in 1991 and then evoked large quantities of literature discussion.However,the existing research has not Provided a clear clue towards solutions to the dilemma.In this PaPer,we initially introduced a dual concern model suggested in Western conflict management theory and sPecified the relationshiP between exPloration and exPloitation to be five tyPes including avoidance,fitness,comPetition,collaboration and comPromise.Thus we break through the basic assumPtion of zero-sum game in which exPlorative and exPloitative behaviors are always comPeting for scarce resource within organizations.Then,we break through the orthogonal hyPothesis and aPPly the Yin-Yang thoughts inherited ever since the ancient China to further clarify a more Prevalent truth that exPloration and exPloitation are actually two distinct existence forms with no obvious boundary and they have mutual alleloPathy and symbiotic co-occurance.Finally,we break through the static assumPtion and adoPt a chess game thinking to effectively resolve a good timing to select and imPlement the exPloration and/or exPloitation.By breaking through the above three traditional underlying assumPtions,we are seeking to guide the firms to walk out of the exPloration and exPloitation dilemma via executing strategic learning behaviors.