Frans A.J. Van Den Bosch

Frans A.J. Van Den Bosch is Professor of Management of Interfaces between Firms and their Environments at the Department of Strategic Management and Business Environment, RSM Erasmus University. He holds a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering, a master’s degree (cum laude) in Economics from the Erasmus University Rotterdam and a PhD. in Law from Leyden University.

He has published several books and papers in journals like Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Management Studies, Long Range Planning, Management Science, Organization Science, Organization Studies and Business and Society. He is an Editorial Board member of a.o. Journal of Management Studies, Long Range Planning, and Organization Studies. He is co-director of the Erasmus Strategic Renewal Center (ESRC) and chairman of the Advisory Board of Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM).

Research interest:

  • managerial and knowledge-based theories of the firm including their contributions to managerial and organizational innovations;
  • strategic renewal of large established organizations, their networks and industries;
  • co-evolutionary dynamics between firms, industries and environments;
  • interorganizational relations, corporate governance, and corporate responsiveness.

Selected publications in International Scientific Journals (1999 - to date):

  • Justin J.P. Jansen, Michiel P. Tempelaar, Frans A.J. Van den Bosch, Henk W. Volberda (2009), Structural Differentiation and Ambidexterity: The Mediating Role of Integration Mechanisms, Organization Science, pp. 1-15
  • Mom, T.J.M., Bosch, F.A.J. Van Den & Volberda, H.W. (2009), “Understanding variation in Manager’s Ambidexterity: Investigating Direct and Interaction Effects of Formal Structural and Personal Coordination Mechanisms” Organization Science, forthcoming
  • Burgers, J.H., Jansen, J.J.P., Bosch, F.A.J. Van Den & Volberda, H.W. (2009), “Structural Differentiation and Corporate Venturing: The Moderating Role of Formal and Informal Integration Mechanisms”, Journal of Business Venturing, forthcoming
  • Burgers, J.H., Van den Bosch, F.A.J. & Volberda, H.W. (2008), Why New Business Development Projects Fail: Coping with the Differences of Technological versus Market Knowledge, Long Range Planning, 41 (1), 55 - 73. Click here to download the full paper
  • Bezemer. P., Maassen, G.F., Van den Bosch, F.A.J. & Volberda, H.W. (2007) Investigating the development of the internal and external service tasks of non-executive directors: The case of the Netherlands (1997-2005). Corporate governance, 15 (6), 1119 - 1129. Click here to download full paper
  • Mom, T.J.M, Bosch, F.A.J. Van Den & Volberda, H.W. (2007), “Investigating Managers’ Exploration and Exploitation Activities: The Influence of Top-down , Bottum-up, and Horizontal Knowledge Inflows, Journal of Management Studies, 44 (6), pp. 910 - 931. Click here to download full paper
  • Vermeulen, P.A.M., Van den Bosch, F.A.J., Volberda, H.W. (2007) Complex Incremental Product Innovation in Established Service Firms: A Micro Institutional Perspective, Organization Studies, 28 (10), pp. 1523 – 1546
  • Vlaar, P.W.L., Van den Bosch, F.A.J. & Volberda, H.W. (2007) “Towards a Dialectiv Perspective on Formalization in Interorganizational Relationships: How Alliance Managers Capitalize on the Duality Inherent in Contracts, Rules, and Procedures”, Organization Studies, 28 (4), pp. 437 – 466
  • Vlaar, P.W.L., Bosch, F.A.J. van Den & Volberda, H.W. (2007), "On the Evolution of Trust, Distrust, and Formal Coordination and Control in Interorganizational Relationships: Towards an Integrative Framework, Group Organization Management, 32 (4), 407 - 429. Click here to download full paper
  • Spedale, S., Bosch F.A.J. Van den & Volberda, H.W. (2007), “Preservation and Dissolution of the Target Firm’s Embedded Ties in Acquisition”, Organization Studies, 28 (8), 1 – 28
  • Vlaar, P.W.L., Van Den Bosch, F.A.J., Volberda, H.W. (2006), Coping with Problems of Understanding in Interorganizational Relationships: Using Formalization as a Mean to make Sense, Organization Studies, Special Issue “Karl Weick”, 27 (11), 1617 – 1638
  • Jansen, J.J.P., Van Den Bosch, F.A.J. & Volberda, H.W. (2006), Exploratory Innovation, Exploitative Innovation, and Performance effects of organizational antecedents and environmental moderators, Management Science, 52 (11), pp. 1661-1674
  • Jansen, J., Van Den Bosch, F.A.J. & Volberda, H.W. (2005), Managing Potential and Realized Absorptive Capacity: How do Organizational Antecedents Matter? Academy of Management Journal, 48 (6), pp. 999 – 1015
  • Heugens, P.M.A.R., Van Riel, C.B.M., Van Den Bosch, F.A.J. (2004), Reputation Management Capabilities as Decision Rules, Journal of Management Studies, 41 (8), p.1349-1377
  • Flier, B., Van Den Bosch, F.A.J., Volberda, H.W. (2003), Coevolution in the Strategic Renewal Behaviour of British, Dutch and French Financial Incumbents: Interaction of Environmental Selection, Institutional Effects, and Managerial Intentionality, Journal of Management Studies, 40 (8), p. 2163-2187
  • Volberda, H.W., Ch. Baden-Fuller and F.A.J. Van Den Bosch (2001), Mastering strategic renewal: Mobilising renewal journeys in multi-unit firms, Long Range Planning, 34 (2) p. 159-178
  • Volberda, H.W., F.A.J. Van Den Bosch, B. Flier and E. Gedajlovic (2001), Following the Herd or not? Long Range Planning, 34 (2) p. 209-229
  • Huygens, M. Ch. Baden-Fuller, F.A.J. Van Den Bosch, H.W. Volberda (2001), Coevolution of Firm Capabilities and Industry Competition: Investigating the Music Industry 1877-1997, Organisation Studies, vol. 22, no. 6, p. 971-1011
  • Van den Bosch, F.A.J., H.W. Volberda, M. de Boer (1999), Co-evolution of Firm Absorptive Capacity and Knowledge Environment: Organization Forms and Combinative Capabilities, Organization Science, vol. 10, 5, p. 551-568
  • Dijksterhuis, M., F.A.J. Van Den Bosch, H.W. Volberda (1999), Where do New Organization Forms come from? Management Logics as a Source of Co-evolution, Organization Science, vol. 10, 5, p. 569-582
  • Boer, M. de, F.A.J. Van Den Bosch, H.W. Volberda (1999), Managing Organizational Knowledge Integration in the Emerging Multimedia Complex, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 36, 3, p. 379-398

 Selected Refereed Book publications (1997 - to date):

  • Pettigrew, A.M., R. Whittington, L. Melin, C. Sanchez-Runde, F.A.J. Van Den Bosch, W. Ruigrok, T. Numagami (eds.) (2003) Innovative Forms of Organizing, International Perspectives, London: Sage Publications, ISBN 07619 64363.
  • Van Den Bosch, F.A.J., A.P. de Man (eds.) (1997) Perspectives on Strategy, Contributions of Michael E. Porter, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, ISBN 0-7923-9895-5.

For a complete publications list, click here to download.

Works on:

  • Structural Differentiation and Ambidexterity
    28 January 2009, Article

    Prior studies have emphasized that structural attributes are crucial to simultaneously pursuing exploration and exploitation, yet our understanding of antecedents of ambidexterity is still limited. Structural differentation can help ambidextrous organizations to maintain multiple inconsistent and conflicting demands; however, differentiated exploratory and exploitative activities need to be mobilized, coordinated, integrated, and applied. Based on this idea, we delineate formal and informal senior team integration mechanisms (e.g. contingency rewards and social integration) and formal and informal organizational integration mechanisms (e.g. cross-functional interfaces and connectedness) and examine  how they mediate the relationship between structural differentiation and ambidexterity. Overall, our findings suggest that the previously asserted direct effect of structural differentation on ambidexterity operates through informal senior team (i.e., senior team social integration) and formal organizational (i.e., cross-functional interfaces) integration mechanisms. Through this richer explanation and empirical assessment, we contribute to a greater clarity and better understanding of how organizations may effectively pursue exploration and exploitation simultaneously to achieve ambidexterity.

  • Understanding variation in managers' ambidexterity
    6 April 2009, Working Paper

    Previous research focuses on firm and business unit level ambidexterity. Therefore, conceptual and empirically validated understanding about ambidexterity at the individual level of analysis is very scarce. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by investigating managers’ ambidexterity,delivering three contributions to theory and empirical research on ambidexterity. First, by proposing three related characteristics of ambidextrous managers. Second, by developing a model and associated hypotheses on both the direct and interaction effects of formal structural and personal coordination mechanisms on managers’ ambidexterity. And third, by testing the hypotheses based on a sample of 716 business unit level and operational level managers.

    Findings regarding the formal structural mechanisms indicate that a manager’s decision making authority positively relates to this manager’s ambidexterity whereas formalization of a manager’s tasks has no significant relationship with this manager’s ambidexterity. Regarding the personal coordination mechanisms, findings indicate that both participation of a manager in crossfunctional interfaces and connectedness of a manager to other organization members, positively relate to this manager’s ambidexterity. Furthermore, results show positive interaction effects between the formal structural and personal coordination mechanisms on managers’ ambidexterity. The paper’s theoretical contributions and the empirical results increase our understanding about managers’ ambidexterity and about how different types and combinations of coordination mechanisms relate to variation in managers’ ambidexterity.

     

  • Why New Business Development Projects Fail
    9 April 2009, Article

    Managing through projects has become important for generating new knowledge to cope with technological and market discontinuities. This paper examines how the fit between the creation of technological and market knowledge and important project management characteristics, i.e. project autonomy and completion criteria, influences the success of new business development (NBD) projects. In-depth longitudinal case research on NBD projects commercialised from 1993 to 2003 in the consumer electronics industry highlights that project management characteristics focusing only on the creation of technological knowledge contributed to the failure of those NBD projects that required new market knowledge as well. The findings indicate that senior management support and engaging in an alliance with partners possessing complementary market knowledge can offset this misalignment of the organisation of NBD projects.

  • Structural differentiation and corporate venturing
    9 April 2009, Article

    Research has suggested that corporate venturing is crucial to strategic renewal and firm performance, yet scholars still debate the appropiate organizational configurations to facilitate the creation of new business in existing organizations. Our study investigates the effectiveness of combining structural differentiation with formal and informal organizational as well as top management team integration mechanisms in establishing an appropiate context for venturing activities. Our findings suggest that structural differentiation has a positive effect on corporate venturing. In addition, our study indicates that a shared vision has a positive effect on venturing in a structurally differentiated context. Socially integrated senior teams and cross-functional interfaces, however, are ineffective integration mechanisms for establishing linkages across differentiated units and for successfully pursuing corportate venturing.