Companies constantly hit rough patches. Unfortunately, not all firms manage to survive decade after decade. Some companies morph throughout the years and bear little resemblance to their original setup (Krakovsky, 2013). Johnson & Johnson began in the late 1880s by manufacturing commercial sterile surgical dressings, while Nokia was kicked off in 1865 as a riverside paper mill. The explanation for this longevity: organisational ambidexterity. The engagement in organisational ambidexterity has grown substantially over the past ten years as studies have found it promotes superior performance. This thesis examines the role of ambidexterity in promoting firm survival and performance through the 2008-2009 financial crisis. 11,290 U.S. firms, listed on the stock markets from 2006 through 2014, are used to form a longitudinal study. The first empirical chapter explores the research question, Did actually Corporate America experience a crisis in 2008 and 2009? The findings confirm that Corporate America did go through a crisis, based on the high bankruptcy rate, which underlines the importance of crisis survival knowledge and the value of this research. Then, the thesis identifies the influence of ambidexterity on the probability of firm survival during the Global Financial Crisis, through the research question, Why and how did some firms survive, while others did not? This thesis distinguishes the role of ambidexterity in relation to firm survival and performance. Survival and performance are not purely dependent on luck or the possession of slack resources. Hence, the knowledge and the ability to exploit and explore resources are essential for long-term survival and prosperity.

This study develops an integrated framework to improve understanding of network learning and value creation in global engineering services (GES). Network learning is the process that enhances firm performance through better knowledge and understanding. Prior research has developed GES network learning and value creation as a set of independent processes with customers, suppliers or intra-firm engineering units. Their practices have been fragmented, facilitating either inter- or intra-firm network learning and focusing on either GES efficiency or innovation. The absence of an integrated approach to network learning makes it difficult for researchers to understand, and for GES firms to manage. A more holistic understanding of GES network learning is urgently needed for firms to compete effectively in an ever-changing global market. This research develops the theory of integrated GES network learning and value creation through a multiple case study. It integrates existing insights from multiple streams of research, and builds on these to explore network learning within three GES firms. The empirical study reveals an integrated network learning process adopted across customers, suppliers and intra-firm engineering units which enhances GES efficiency, flexibility and innovation. It clarifies the interrelated knowledge acquisition and development processes and supporting boundary spanning mechanisms within network learning. These processes and mechanisms are integrated in a framework that offers a more holistic view of GES network learning. The framework contributes conceptually to the literature on network learning in GES and offers managerial implications for firms to facilitate integrated network learning for effective GES value creation.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Industrial Management, 1963. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Hal Douglas Smith. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Industrial Management, 1958. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-156). / by Howard Spencer Krasnow. / M.S.

Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Industrial Management, 1960. / MIT copy bound with: Approximating the point binomial with the Gram-Charlier type B series / by David Aaker, David Butterfield [1960] / by Duane Lee Christensen. / B.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Industrial Management, 1961. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [107]-[111]). / by Edward Ney Dodson, III. / M.S.

Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Industrial Management, 1960. / MIT copy bound with: Approximating the point binomial with the Gram-Charlier type B series / by David Aaker, David Butterfield [1960] / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 44). / by Alan S. Bloom. / B.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Industrial Management, 1963. / Copy of typescript. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 80). / by George R. Wachold. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Industrial Management, 1963. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-98). / by Colby Hackett Chandler. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Industrial Management, 1963. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-146). / by Robert C. Bitting, Jr. / M.S.