SHU Researcher Examines Influences in the ‘New Economy'

Nicole Jackson focuses on adapting to the future of AI, big data and predictive analytics

Nicole Jackson, Sacred Heart University’s MBA program director for the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology, is a pioneer in research that focuses on organizational ambidexterity, or how business leaders can best coexist with technology in the future’s digital workforce.

Jackson explains organizational ambidexterity as a concept every business must understand because it is essential to growth strategies in a new era of rapid change. Most scholars describe it as understanding how to balance historical competencies with the need to innovate, which she calls “the most central problem that many organizations face.”

Numerous examples exist in the research literature related to these challenges, says Jackson, such as the Blockbuster Video chain failing to innovate fast enough and being replaced by Netflix, just as Sears fell to Amazon and the transportation industry now taking a back seat to Uber and Lyft.

The term “organizational ambidexterity” was first coined in 1976, but it wasn’t used in the mainstream workplace until the last decade. “With all the digital tools available now, and everything accelerating so quickly, it’s a concept that has had to be widely understood and implemented,” Jackson said.

One area Jackson researches is how ambidexterity affects human resources’ (HR) practices. Leadership succession planning becomes a crucial part of the HR function, rather than the traditional C-suite.

Jackson interviewed HR executives to determine the current trend of leadership succession, and she has developed a four-step plan to align succession planning with ambidexterity in organizations.

The first step, she says, is to align and evaluate the appropriate business model narrative beyond just data-driven strategies for ambidexterity. Step two is to recognize and preempt decision-making traps that traditionally affect ambidexterity alignment or shift. Step three is the realignment and integration of leadership succession for ambidexterity into individual developmental action plans. The last step is to test leadership plans for exploitation and exploration fit, skill durability and scalability with big data and predictive analytics. Jackson also has developed an audit for HR executives to use to determine exploitative and exploratory ambidexterity. Her work also builds this focus into career management, as well as higher educational transformation and change management.

“Many people are scared of digital disruption They are afraid of losing their jobs to robots and other artificial intelligence,” said Jackson, who is seeking ways to change the discussion. “A lot of the technologies in development will solve many of the major socioeconomic problems we face. So, we need to look at where we can thrive. Those riding in a horse and buggy had to adapt for the car. Computers have replaced typewriters and word processors. It’s a scary and exciting reality, but I have faith that people can change with the times. It’s a matter of being prescient and being prepared.

“Our entire society is under a huge, transformative shift right now. Historically, the industrial revolution structured our reality in terms of identity and success. Everything was stable and predictable: you go to the right school, you get into the right organization, you move up and succeed.

“In this newer economy, you have to be an independent, resourceful entrepreneur and ambidextrous thinker. If you’re not, you will get caught in the undertow. Most educational systems have not prepared people for this new reality. You have to be able to leverage your knowledge in an entrepreneurial way, even if you work within an organization.”