Review of Organizational Ambidexterity Research

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to investigate how organizational ambidexterity can be achieved at a modern organization. A concise review of key studies conducted until today consolidates the state of academic research on the subject of organizational ambidexterity, as the ambidexterity concept has been gaining increased attention from scholars. The systematic search of the literature published since 1991, composed of 122 articles, has revealed various research perspectives with respect to organizational ambidexterity. The research tools that have been employed were the systematic data collection processes, qualitative data analysis techniques, and data synthesis of the selected research output. The results of this review have shown that researchers have been studying ambidexterity from various angles and in various literature streams. They have been focusing on multiple external and internal organizational factors that affect ambidexterity and have been analyzing these moderators in terms of performance metrics and degree of their influence on ambidexterity. This study concludes with future research directions and propositions on the subject of organizational ambidexterity.

Is the Effect of Organizational Ambidexterity and Technological Innovation Capability on Firm Performance Mediated by Competitive Advantage? An Empirical Research on Turkish Manufacturing and Service Industries

“…Researchers have expressed contradictory views on OA and its impacts on FP in the literature (Kassotaki, 2022). Gibson and Birkinshaw (2004) found that obtaining ambidexterity through contextual support is possible, which positively correlated with FP (Gibson & Birkinshaw, 2004).…”

Taking a closer look at the regionally clustered firms: How can ambidexterity explain the link between management, entrepreneurship, and innovation in a post-industrialized world?

“…Firms that mainly pursue exploitation achieve returns that are predictable but not necessarily sustainable; they may enhance their short-term performance, but that can result in a competence trap, as they may not be able to respond adequately to environmental changes. On the contrary, previous scholars have acknowledged that for firms to compete successfully in the long-term, they probably need to be able of pursing exploitation and exploration, with ambidexterity being a key driver in their long-term performance (Kassotaki, 2022). Therefore, firms must pursue an optimal mix of exploration and exploitation in order to remain competitive both in the short-and long-term (Gibson & Birkinshaw, 2004;Junni et al, 2013;Luo et al, 2018).…”

“…In the balanced perspective, ambidexterity can be described as midpoint, or an optimal point on a continuum, with exploitation and exploration lying at the two ends. On the other hand, in the combined perspective, exploitation and exploration are considered independent activities, where their maximized level can produce a high degree of ambidexterity (Kassotaki, 2022;Fig. 1).…”

Motive, mindset and opportunity: exploring leader ambidexterity factors in health-care

“…This study contributes to the burgeoning research on ambidexterity in several ways. Firstly, it answers recent calls for enquiry into the micro-foundations and behavioural styles associated with ambidextrous leadership (Kafetzopoulos, 2022;Kassotaki, 2022;Tempelaar & Rosenkranz, 2019) and examines the unique and relative contribution of leaders' paradoxical thinking and integrator behaviours to their engagement with both exploration and exploitation behaviours. Secondly, our study extends the research on the influence of contextual contingencies on leader ambidexterity and tests for differences in ambidextrous behaviour along managerial levels and managerial roles.…”

“…While the advantages of ambidextrous leadership have been extolled in the literature (Jia et al, 2022), and leader attributes and behaviours such as response to paradoxes and leadership styles have been proposed as ambidexterity predictors, there is limited research that examines the unique and joint influence of these leader factors on ambidexterity (Kassotaki, 2022; Schnellbächer, Heidenreich, & Wald, 2019). Moreover, the associations between health-care leader responses to paradoxes, their leadership styles and ambidextrous behaviours has not been established.…”