Configurations for Achieving Organizational Ambidexterity with Digitization

Abstract

Organizational ambidexterity refers to the capability of businesses to balance the pursuit of radical innovation simultaneously with incremental innovation. It echoes the popular notion that to thrive well in a competitive economy, businesses need to balance their exploration of new markets and products with exploitation or balance operational efficiency with flexibility. Digital technologies have become central to enabling organizational ambidexterity. The analysis reveals how the three dimensions of digitization efforts—IT implementation spending, IT training, and actual IT usage—should be combined with specific internal and external factors to develop greater ambidexterity. Two of these complementary factors are either a centralized organizational structure or a strong supplier and partner network—the first a likely channel for cross-organizational knowledge transfer and the second for interfirm knowledge transfers. However, determining which combinations are useful also depends on the size of the business and competitiveness of markets. Large businesses, or those in more competitive sectors, derive a slightly greater advantage from digitization than small firms or those in less competitive sectors. These findings are useful for policy makers tasked with subsidy allocation to industry sectors and managers when allocating investment spending for digitization.

Product Innovations through Ambidextrous Organizational Culture with Mediating Effect of Contextual Ambidexterity: An Empirical Study of IT and Telecom Firms

“…Further partial mediation of contextual ambidexterity has been proved between organizational diversity and radical product innovation as well as organizational diversity and speed to market. Our findings also endorse the study by Park et al [10], in which the researchers investigated Canadian firms, who are investing in the implementation of information technology system, and suggested that digitization plays a multifaceted role in achieving ambidexterity. Accordingly, the study implies that contextual ambidexterity does not play any mediation role between organizational diversity and incremental product innovation and shared vision and incremental product innovation.…”

“…Several studies have directed on this topic in the literature. Based on the perspective of configurational theory, Park et al [10] examines the role of digitization in attaining organizational structural ambidexterity by simultaneous pursuance of both exploitation and exploration, and proposed that intrafirm collaboration is imperative to both the intrafirm and interfirm solutions for achieving ambidexterity. Organizational ambidexterity means how to materialize the balance and simultaneousness between exploration-based and exploitation-based culture [11].…”

Centralization and decentralization in departmentalization processes: a review of the literature

“…En agentes económicos minoristas se puede observar que la centralización también forma parte de sus desarrollos, mayormente sucede cuando los minoristas pertenecen a la misma corporación y el objetivo común que tienen es de maximizar sus beneficios (P. Zhang et al, 2020). Las pequeñas y grandes empresas necesitan invertir en digitalización con un alto grado de centralización, pues en lo interempresarial, las tecnologías de información y comunicación permiten aprovechar mejor una estructura centralizada, incluso superar sus limitaciones y mejorar la colaboración simultánea con los socios para lograr coordinar procesos de exploración y explotación; además, ambos permiten a las organizaciones integrar de manera más efectiva el conocimiento en diferentes dominios y unidades (Park et al, 2020).…”

Combined Effects of Self Tuning Model and Innovation Capability on Digital Innovation: A study of German Pharmaceutical Firm

“…Finally, we will explore the role of organizational ambidexterity which is defined as an organization's ability to be aligned and efficient in managing its current enterprise systems as well as being adaptive to changes occurring in the nearby future in its environment (Maclean et al, 2020). Digital technologies require exploration and exploitation of activities to enhance development by utilizing smart tools that are targeted to increase the overall system's efficiency (Park et al, 2020). These technologies increase facilitation, reduce costs and result in improving productivity and enhanced synergy through integration.…”