Title: FORMATION OF CAUSAL AMBIGUITY IN TRANS MEDIA.

Authors: Rr. ROOSWANTI PUTRI ADI AGUSTINI

Item Type : Thesis (Thesis)

Affiliations: Doctoral Study Program in Management Science, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Airlangga , Surabaya, Indonesia

Publisher: Universitas Airlangga

Abstract

Causal ambiguity is a crucial element in the formation of imperfectly imitable resources and is central to the Resource-Based View (RBV) perspective. Despite its importance, little research has addressed the process by which causal ambiguity develops. This study, using Trans Media, a commercial television station in the Indonesian television industry, attempts to uncover the black box of causal ambiguity formation. The sustainable competitive advantage achieved by Trans Media after experiencing various human resource hijackings is an interesting causal ambiguity phenomenon to study. The occurrence of causal ambiguity is demonstrated by differences in beliefs between competing organizations regarding the contribution of organizational, physical, and human resources to organizational performance. Using a qualitative, inductive theory-building approach through a single case study, this study constructs a Spiral Model of Causal Ambiguity Formation and develops propositions to understand the process by which causal ambiguity develops. Causal ambiguity is formed from Militant Culture, Transformational Human Resource Management Practices, and Militant Leadership. The interaction of these three components must maintain one or a combination of the characteristics of tacitness, complexity, and specificity to remain a source of causal ambiguity. The interaction of causal ambiguity components occurs at every stage of the organizational life cycle, namely the entrepreneurial stage, collectivity stage, formalization stage, and elaboration stage. The findings of this study provide interesting implications for theory development. First, the main findings of this study expand the concept of RBV, how causal ambiguity forms in organizational management to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Second, the natural approach in this research analysis is an update and development of the organizational life cycle concept in organizational theory. The natural approach in this study assumes that each stage in the organizational life cycle is a subcycle that allows for a stop and not to continue to the next stage. Third, the Militant Leadership proposed in this study is in line with Complexity Leadership Theory but differs in the elements of authority and flexibility. Militant Leadership has full authority and fixed capacity in creating an adaptive system to face a complex business environment and dynamic market. The Spiral Model of Causal Ambiguity Formation and the resulting propositions are useful for television industry managers in making operational and strategic decisions. The formation of causal ambiguity is important for management because causal ambiguity is a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Efforts to establish causal ambiguity require the direct involvement of founders and owners who act as militant leaders (characterized by tacitness, specificity, and complexity) to build an organizational culture that is militant (characterized by tacitness, specificity, and complexity). Company owners, especially those operating in Indonesia, need to increase their direct involvement in organizational management. Further research is needed in long-established organizations to understand the evolution of the Spiral Model of Causal Ambiguity Formation over time across various generations of leadership. Further research is also needed involving organizations and industries different from those in this study to compare the components and interactions between components that occur in the process of causal ambiguity formation. The propositions formulated in this study can be used as a starting point for forming hypotheses that can be tested empirically in further research, thus obtaining the weights for each concept and category that indicate the strongest variables and indicators

Keywords: Resource-Based View, causal ambiguity, Indonesian television industry, militant culture, transformational human resource management practices, militant leadership

Sources: http://repository.unair.ac.id/66659/