Purpose: This article focuses on the mediating role of innovation orientation and the moderating role of organisational trust (OT) on the relationship between ambidextrous leadership (AL) and export performance (EP). The need to highlight the drivers of AL and its influence on EP necessitated this study.Design/methodology/approach: The authors subjected sample data set from 420 respondents that engage in direct and indirect export activities to inferential analysis using partial least square (SEM).Findings/results: This study reveals that innovation orientation mediates AL and EP, as the direct link was not significant and organisation trust moderates the relationship.Practical implications: Leaders’ ambidexterity should incorporate a clearly defined orientation towards innovation that supports knowledge sharing and guides the need for innovative support while also ensuring that employees have high trust in the organisation.Originality/value: This study validates the leadership complexity theory and adds to EP literature on the relevance of innovation orientation and OT as good predictors of EP.