Ambidexterity or the ability by individuals or firms to simultaneously and synergistically pursue both exploitation and exploration activities has been found to have positive effects on firm performance. However, the ambidexterity literature has been predominated by the studies at the organizational level, and little is known about the antecedents and consequences of ambidexterity at the individual level. This study examines environmental dynamism and social network as the antecedents of managerial ambidexterity, and knowledge brokerage and firm performance as the consequences. This study tests the mediating role of knowledge brokerage on the relationship between managerial ambidexterity and firm performance. Data are collected from 308 senior executives working in technology manufacturing firms in Malaysia using a questionnaire survey. The findings reveal that environmental dynamism and social networks are significantly and positively related to managerial ambidexterity, and knowledge brokerage mediates the relationship between managerial ambidexterity and firm performance.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the level of information and communication technology (ICT) outsourcing and its determinants in the Malaysian locally owned manufacturing firms. Drawing on the transaction cost theory and the resource-based theory, four determinants – asset specificity, uncertainty, business skills and technical skills – were hypothesized to influence ICT outsourcing. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a questionnaire survey from 104 manufacturing firms listed on the Directory of Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers. Data were then analyzed using R package partial least squares path modeling. Findings The study reveals that slightly over two-thirds (68 per cent) of the surveyed manufacturers either fully or partially outsourced their ICT services. Asset specificity and uncertainty are found to be positively related to the level of ICT outsourcing, which contradict the prediction of the transaction cost theory. On the other hand, business skills and technical skills are not significantly related to the level of ICT outsourcing, which also conflict the resource-based arguments. Research limitations/implications The small sample size would not be able to make meaningful conclusion for the population; the small R2 value indicates that other important determinants of ICT outsourcing were not tested in this study, and the transaction cost theory and the resource-based theory do not adequately predict the level of ICT outsourcing in the Malaysian locally owned manufacturers. Originality/value The study serves as one of the first studies that tested the determinants of ICT outsourcing using the transaction cost theory and the resource-based theory in locally owned manufacturing firms of a developing country.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract