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The purpose of this paper is to show that individual ambidexterity affects performance in small project-based enterprises. This is consistent with a recent and prominent stream of research that investigates the characteristics of workers as antecedents of ambidexterity behaviors and their effect on performance. We also analyze the role of entrepreneurial intensity as an important context issue that hampers this relationship. We test our hypotheses in the context of Italian television drama series productions, which are small project-based enterprises, by analyzing the careers of 1736 project entrepreneurs who had been working in the industry from 1996 to 2010. Our results suggest that for project entrepreneurs, high diversity in work experiences positively affects the project performance. Moreover, we demonstrate that the industry tenure of project entrepreneurs lessens the main relationship, by reducing the positive effect of entrepreneurial intensity and limiting benefits of ambidextrous behaviors. Our findings allow us to add insights to the entrepreneurship research and individual level ambidexterity theory. First, we contribute to this stream of research by analyzing how the diversity of work experiences at the individual level affects project performance. In doing so, we overcome the prior literature, which limited analysis only to the project portfolio level. Second, we develop a framework that investigates the argument regarding whether and under what circumstances does individual level ambidexterity improve project performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational leaders routinely note the critical importance of human capital in enabling successful innovation outcomes. However, strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices, especially in large firms, often are not aligned with practices that facilitate breakthrough innovation (BI), where uncertainty, ambiguity, and risk of failure are high. In this paper, drawing from the motivation–opportunity–ability (MOA) framework, we identify and delineate SHRM practices that are likely to affect BI outcomes in firms. These include career risk mitigation, extrinsic rewards (motivation), idea generation facilitation (opportunity), innovation talent development, and managerial ambidexterity development (ability). We theorize that while these SHRM practices may directly affect BI outcomes, these effects are likely to be modulated by the broader organizational context, specifically, the degree of organizational conservatism. We test our hypotheses using survey data collected from 79 U.S.-based multinational firms and find that first, the impacts of career risk, extrinsic rewards, and innovation talent development on BI outcomes vary with the firm's degree of conservatism. Second, developing ambidextrous talent among middle managers positively influences BI outcomes, irrespective of the firm's level of conservatism. Overall, our study provides a basic framework to understand how SHRM practices can be leveraged to influence innovation under varying degrees of conservatism in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a fractional version of Haemers’ bound on the Shannon capacity of a graph, which is originally due to Blasiak. This bound is a common strengthening of both Haemers’ bound and the fractional chromatic number of a graph. We show that this fractional version outperforms any bound on the Shannon capacity that could be attained through Haemers’ bound. We show also that this bound is multiplicative, unlike Haemers’ bound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses an all-encompassing approach to increase the number of students in engineering through innovative outreach, recruiting, and retention programs. Prior to adopting these programs, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Oklahoma (OU), Norman, experienced a reduction in engineering enrollment similar to the trend that has occurred across the U.S. over the last few years. As a result, the school investigated the key factors that influence selection of engineering as a career path and initiated a corrective program to reverse this trend. The program involves focusing on the present through retention, on the immediate future through recruiting, and on the distant future through outreach. The focus of all of these programs is to mobilize the OU-ECE faculty and student body to present advanced engineering technologies, innovative demonstrations, and hands-on activities at a level that the individual student can understand and appreciate. Student surveys and interviews are used to assess the program qualitatively, and OU-ECE enrollment numbers are used as a quantitative assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]