Organizations are complex multilevel social systems, in which individual members frequently execute diverse tasks within their functional units or teams to advance strategic goals over a period of time. Diverse organizational phenomena are, therefore, inherently shaped by factors from different levels and can be comprehensively studied by embracing multilevel research designs. In this introductory paper, we review different multilevel approaches used in management and organization studies to contextualize four papers published as part of this management focus on multilevel research. We also discuss several directions for future research. We strongly advocate for scholars to conduct more multilevel qualitative and mixed-methods studies that can address complex business and societal challenges. The need for such research designs is urgent and important in our scholarly field, and your contribution can make a significant difference.
With scarce research on the intersection of corporate venturing and firm strategy, few companies succeed in using their dedicated corporate venturing units (CVUs) for strategic renewal. This study examines this intersection in so-called interlinked-ambidextrous CVUs. Through relational interlinks with internal and external stakeholders, these organizational entities combine the exploration of new market opportunities with the exploitation of existing core competencies to develop new competitive advantages for their parent companies. That way, they aim to create organizationally consequential new business that can change the competitive positioning of a company. To investigate such strategic corporate venturing, the study collects and analyses qualitative data from interlinked-ambidextrous units in 16 European companies. The resulting key themes and their relationships are mapped onto an exploratory model of strategic corporate venturing that includes organizational context factors as antecedents; process activities, relational mechanisms and dynamic capabilities as enablers; and an ambidextrous orientation as a mediator for the intended strategic renewal task. Embedding these key findings within existing theory provides valuable contributions to the development of the strategic corporate venturing concept and the understanding of interlinked-ambidextrous CVUs. This can help practitioners tackle the strategic renewal challenge through corporate venturing.