Growing pains: Structural strategies that neglect emotions block corporate innovation, says study

Phys · May 19, 2026 · 501 words · By Aalto University

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What to know about Growing pains: Structural strategies that neglect emotions block corporate innovation, says study

The article discusses a study by Aalto University and Harvard University regarding how emotional tensions within corporate structures can hinder innovation efforts. It outlines the findings that structural changes often create conflict between core business units and innovation units, and suggests five leadership practices to mitigate these emotional challenges.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 8

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Growing pains: Structural strategies that neglect emotions block corporate innovation, says study Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor Why do so many corporate renewal efforts fail, despite following current best practices?

Why it matters

Research from Aalto University and Harvard University found that while a structural approach to increasing innovation is commonly accepted as the pathway to growth for companies, the emotional impact of the changes often undermines innovation efforts.

Common ground

The study examined the relationship between ambidextrous structures seeking to optimize both short term performance and long term innovation, and interpersonal dynamics, at more than a dozen companies over 15 years.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Growing pains: Structural strategies that neglect emotions block corporate innovation, says study?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The authors found these dynamics at Deloitte consulting, Nokia, Italian energy company ENEL and many other organizations that were part of the study?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-pains-strategies-neglect-emotions-block.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 5

verified Verified By Reference 2

verified Verified 1

info

Claim 1: “The authors found these dynamics at Deloitte consulting, Nokia, Italian energy company ENEL and many other organizations that were part of the study.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim is irrelevant (discussing emotion classification, neurocognitive changes, and camping in the Arctic) and does not mention Deloitte, Nokia, or ENEL in the context of this study.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The circumplex model of emotion was developed by James Russell.[12] This model suggests that emotions are distributed in a two-dimensional circular space, containing arousal and valence dimensions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion_classification

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web search NEUTRAL — The findings shed light on some of the neurocognitive changes associated with negative emotionality. But future research is needed with older populations. “Our study focused on young adults, and our f…
https://www.psypost.org/study-suggests-negative-emotionality…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — I drove 32 hrs to Alaska's far north, to traverse the Arctic tundra with my own dog team (Kindly borrowed from Iditarod musher Lauro Ekland) I will be winte...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g53DHxAab5E

verified

Claim 2: “Research from Aalto University and Harvard University found that while a structural approach to increasing innovation is commonly accepted as the pathway to growth for companies, the emotional impact of the changes often undermines innovation efforts.”

VERIFIED

Aalto University's own official website confirms that Timo Vuori is the lead author of a study finding that negative emotional dynamics between a firm's core and exploratory business models undermine innovation efforts.

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web search NEUTRAL — Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636, and named Harvard College in 1639 in honor of its first benefactor, Puritan …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University

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web search NEUTRAL — These tensions then undermine innovation efforts,’ says Aalto University’s Timo Vuori, the lead author of the study. The research found negative emotional dynamics between the firm’s core business mod…
https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/growing-pains-structural-strate…

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web search NEUTRAL — At Aalto University, you can study technology, arts, and business. Our students have the freedom to choose courses in all three fields or specialise in one area of study. Aalto University’s purpose is…
https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/aalto-universit…

info

Claim 3: “Leaders from HAVAS, a French advertising company, for example, explained how the innovative approaches to content development threatened the traditional leaders and made them hostile to the new technology.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence is irrelevant, discussing US Senate leaders and historical figures, with no mention of HAVAS or the specific findings of the study.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The party leadership of the United States Senate refers to the officials elected by the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference to manage the affairs of each party in the Senate.…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_party_leaders_of_the…

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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 7, 2024 · You don't have to be a prime minister, civil war general, Nobel Peace Prize laureate or founding father to learn the strengths of famous leaders and better your own life.
https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/famous-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 4, 2023 · Let’s delve into our list of the 50 most famous world leaders we should all know about. 1. Cleopatra VII was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active…
https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/world/50-most-famous-worl…

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Claim 4: “The findings are published in the journal California Management Review.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the evidence confirms that the California Management Review is a real journal, it does not provide evidence that this specific study was published there.

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web search NEUTRAL — English Wikisource has the full text of "Why Most Published Research Findings Are False"In the paper, Ioannidis argued that a large number, if not the majority, of published medical research papers co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Most_Published_Research_Fi…

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web search NEUTRAL — California Management Review is a premier academic management journal published at UC Berkeley.The study was performed by interviewing eighty-seven managerial personnel representing thirty different o…
https://cmr.berkeley.edu/search/articleDetail.aspx?article=3…

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web search NEUTRAL — TIM Publication in Journal of Cleaner Production.Prof. Frank Piller has had an article entitled "Open Business Models and Closed-Loop Value Chains: Redefining the Firm-Consumer Relationship" published…
https://www.time.rwth-aachen.de/cms/TIME/Die-Research-Area/T…

verified

Claim 5: “Timo Vuori, Associate Professor at Aalto University and lead author of the study.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Multiple authoritative sources, including Aalto University's faculty page and Google Scholar, confirm Timo Vuori is an Associate Professor at Aalto University.

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web search NEUTRAL — Timo Vuori. Associate Professor.Timo O. Vuori is a strategy consultant and professor at Aalto University. His research on emotions and strategy has been published in the leading international journals…
https://www.aalto.fi/en/people/timo-vuori

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web search NEUTRAL — Aalto University. Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. Timo Vuori.How we measure 'reads'. A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract…
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Timo-Vuori

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web search NEUTRAL — Timo O. Vuori. Associate Professor, Aalto University. Verified email at aalto.fi - Homepage. Strategy process innovation emotion cognition.
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=k98zhqYAAAAJ&hl=en

info

Claim 6: “The study examined the relationship between ambidextrous structures seeking to optimize both short term performance and long term innovation, and interpersonal dynamics, at more than a dozen companies over 15 years.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the evidence explains 'ambidextrous organization' generally and mentions other studies by Tushman, the provided search results do not contain the specific details regarding the 15-year period or the number of companies (over a dozen) for this specific study.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Just as being ambidextrous means being able to use both the left and right hand equally, organizational ambidexterity requires the organizations to use both exploration and exploitation techniques to …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambidextrous_organization

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web search NEUTRAL — a large sample (500 companies) over a 10-year period and showed that firms with greater technological capabilities benefitted more from ambidexterity. The study by Caspin-Wagner and her colleagues loo…
https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication+Files/O'Reilly+and+Tushm…

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web search NEUTRAL — This paper presents an integrative framework examining the relationship between ambidextrous innovation, organizational resilience, and high-quality development in contemporary enterprises.
https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202504.1258

info

Claim 7: “Timo O. Vuori et al, Managing the Emotional Challenges of Structural Ambidexterity, California Management Review (2026). DOI: 10.1177/00081256261442210”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim is completely irrelevant, discussing the physical properties of paper, tutoring services, and a video game (Paper.io 2). There is no evidence of the specific paper or DOI provided.

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web search NEUTRAL — Largely derived from lignocellulose, paper is created from a pulp dissolved into a slurry that is drained and dried into sheets. Different types of paper are defined by constituent fiber, paper pulp, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper

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web search NEUTRAL — Beyond high-impact tutoring, Paper provides on-demand academic support to help students get unstuck, ask questions, and build confidence across subjects. Paper offers tools that help teachers extend i…
https://paper.co/

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web search NEUTRAL — At its core this is definitely a casual game: after all, all you need to do is steer a colored square on a blank sheet of paper, covering it with paint, effectively identifying your captured territori…
https://paperio.site/

verified

Claim 8: “Harvard Business School Professor Michael Tushman, who co-authored the study.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and Harvard Business School's official faculty page confirm Michael L. Tushman is a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

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web search NEUTRAL — Michael L. Tushman (born 1947) is an American organizational theorist, management adviser, and Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_L._Tushman

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web search NEUTRAL — Professor, Harvard Business School. Verified email at hbs.edu. Organization Theory innovation leadership strategy ambidexterity.ML Tushman, E Romanelli. Research in organizational behavior, 1985.
https://scholar.google.co.ve/citations?user=fw6xDy0AAAAJ&hl=…

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web search NEUTRAL — At Harvard, Tushman is involved in comprehensive and focused executive education programs, the MBA program, as well as its doctoral programs. Tushman is the faculty chair of the Advanced Management Pr…
https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6584

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.