Dynamic Ambidexterity: Proposal of a Theoretical and Hypothetical Model

Editors-in-chief:

Wesley Mendes-da-Silva (Fundação Getulio Vargas, EAESP, Brazil)

Marcelo de Souza Bispo (Universidade Federal da Paraíba, PPGA, Brazil)

Reviewers:

Aruana Rosa Souza (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil)

Two of the reviewers did not authorize the disclosure of their identities.

Authorship

Rodrigo Franklin Frogeri*

Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas

Av. Alzira Barra Gazzola, n. 650, Aeroporto, 37031-099, Varginha, MG, Brazil

E-mail address: rodrigo.frogeri@professor.unis.edu.br

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7545-7529

Pedro dos Santos Portugal Júnior

Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas

Av. Alzira Barra Gazzola, n. 650, Aeroporto, 37031-099, Varginha, MG, Brazil

E-mail address: pedro.junior@professor.unis.edu.br

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2590-1959

Fabrício Pelloso Piurcosky

Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas

Av. Alzira Barra Gazzola, n. 650, Aeroporto, 37031-099, Varginha, MG, Brazil

E-mail address: fabricio@unis.edu.br

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5458-5129

Victor Sanacato

Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas

Av. Alzira Barra Gazzola, n. 650, Aeroporto, 37031-099, Varginha, MG, Brazil

E-mail address: victor.sanacato@unis.edu.br

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1880-3632

Julia López de Calle

Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas

Av. Alzira Barra Gazzola, n. 650, Aeroporto, 37031-099, Varginha, MG, Brazil

E-mail address: julia.calle@unis.edu.br

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1332-8940

Stefano Barra Gazzola

Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas

Av. Alzira Barra Gazzola, n. 650, Aeroporto, 37031-099, Varginha, MG, Brazil

E-mail address: reitor@unis.edu.br

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3513-3922

Felipe Flausino de Oliveira

Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas

Av. Alzira Barra Gazzola, n. 650, Aeroporto, 37031-099, Varginha, MG, Brazil

E-mail address: felipe.oliveira@unis.edu.br

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2915-9440

Authors' Contributions

1^st author: conceptualization (lead); data curation (lead); formal analysis (lead); investigation (lead); methodology (lead); software (lead); supervision (lead); validation (lead); writing-original draft (lead); writing-review & editing (lead).

2^nd author: conceptualization (equal); formal analysis (equal); validation (equal); visualization (equal); writing-original draft (equal); writing-review & editing (equal).

3^rd author: conceptualization (equal); data curation (equal); funding acquisition (lead); supervision (equal); validation (equal); writing-review & editing (equal).

4^th author: data curation (supporting); funding acquisition (supporting); investigation (supporting); project administration (supporting); supervision (supporting); validation (supporting); writing-original draft (supporting); writing-review & editing (supporting).

5^th author: data curation (supporting); formal analysis (supporting); funding acquisition (supporting); investigation (supporting); project administration (supporting); validation (supporting); visualization (supporting); writing-original draft (supporting); writing-review & editing (supporting).

6^th author: funding acquisition (lead); investigation (supporting); project administration (supporting); resources (lead); supervision (supporting); writing-original draft (supporting); writing-review & editing (supporting).

7^th author: funding acquisition (supporting); investigation (supporting); project administration (equal); resources (supporting); software (supporting); supervision (supporting); writing-original draft (supporting); writing-review & editing (supporting).

Conflict of Interests

The authors have stated that there is no conflict of interest.

Feature	Reference
Exploitation companies work within well-established problem-solving structures, under which problems and solutions can be clearly defined (they have a low level of uncertainty).	Chen, 2017Chen, Y. (2017). Dynamic ambidexterity: How innovators manage exploration and exploitation. Business Horizons, 60(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01...
They focus on existing businesses or existing ways of doing business and the use of the information and capabilities available to achieve short-term organizational objectives and market positions (gaining competitiveness).	Chen, 2017Chen, Y. (2017). Dynamic ambidexterity: How innovators manage exploration and exploitation. Business Horizons, 60(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01...
Have high success rates.	Chen, 2017Chen, Y. (2017). Dynamic ambidexterity: How innovators manage exploration and exploitation. Business Horizons, 60(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01...
Good management suggests companies with good exploitation capacity.	March, 1991March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71-87. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.1.71 https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.1.71...
Short-term successes and predictable revenues/profits are sought.	Govindarajan & Trimble, 2010Govindarajan, V., & Trimble, C. (2010). The other side of innovation: Solving the execution challenge. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
Focus the organization’s attention on improving reliability, efficiency, and control.	Chen, 2017Chen, Y. (2017). Dynamic ambidexterity: How innovators manage exploration and exploitation. Business Horizons, 60(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01...

Feature	Reference
Search for new business opportunities, new revenue fronts, or business models.	Chen, 2017Chen, Y. (2017). Dynamic ambidexterity: How innovators manage exploration and exploitation. Business Horizons, 60(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01... ; March, 1991March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71-87. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.1.71 https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.1.71...
Exploration practices consume resources in the short term; their returns are uncertain and can take time.	Arend & Chen, 2012Arend, R. J., & Chen, Y. (2012). Entrepreneurship as dynamic, complex, disequilibrious: A focus that benefits strategic organization. Strategic Organization, 10(1), 85-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127011431340 https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127011431340...
Have high failure rates.	Chen, 2017Chen, Y. (2017). Dynamic ambidexterity: How innovators manage exploration and exploitation. Business Horizons, 60(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01...
Successful organizations in exploitation may not have the same results with exploration.	Christensen & Raynor, 2003Christensen, C. M., & Raynor, M. E. (2003). The innovator’s solution: Creating and sustaining sucessfull growth. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
It rarely creates immediate value, so there is a reason that less attention is devoted to it.	Chen, 2017Chen, Y. (2017). Dynamic ambidexterity: How innovators manage exploration and exploitation. Business Horizons, 60(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01...
Generally, exploration practices begin with early failures and disappointments, and not all early failures will lead to a breakthrough.	Chen, 2017Chen, Y. (2017). Dynamic ambidexterity: How innovators manage exploration and exploitation. Business Horizons, 60(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.01...

Theme	Main discussions	References
Leadership of managers and sharing an integrated vision with the CEO of the organization	… capacity of the CEO of the organization to have access to timely, valuable and diversified information is the key to avoid polarized management attention for both exploitation and exploration. … CEO develops this capacity through its networks of connections that act as a channel of valuable information and resources through the actors involved.	Collins and Clark (2003Collins, C. J., & Clark, K. D. (2003). Strategic human resource practices, top management team social networks, and firm performance: The role of human resource practices in creating organizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Journal, 46(6), 740-751. https://doi.org/10.2307/30040665 https://doi.org/10.2307/30040665... ); Gibson and Birkinshaw (2004Gibson, C. B., & Birkinshaw, J. (2004). The Antecedents, consequences, and mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Academy of Management Journal, 47(2), 209-226. https://doi.org/10.5465/20159573 https://doi.org/10.5465/20159573... ); Lubatkin et al. (2006Lubatkin, M. H., Simsek, Z., Ling, Y., & Veiga, J. F. (2006). Ambidexterity and performance in small-to medium-sized firms: The pivotal role of top management team behavioral integration. Journal of Management, 32(5), 646-672. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206306290712 https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206306290712... ).
Integration between the team of the organization’s senior management and the CEO	… organizations with senior management teams that share the same vision and have “contingency rewards”¹ to the members of these teams are associated with high levels of innovation through exploitation and exploration. … a contradictory view of exploitation and exploration within senior management teams may involve paradoxical cognitive processes both with the CEO and in actions among the entire senior management team, evidencing the need for connection networks.	Gibson and Birkinshaw (2004Gibson, C. B., & Birkinshaw, J. (2004). The Antecedents, consequences, and mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Academy of Management Journal, 47(2), 209-226. https://doi.org/10.5465/20159573 https://doi.org/10.5465/20159573... ); Jansen, George, Bosch and Volberda (2008Jansen, J. J. P., George, G., Bosch, F. A. J. Van Den, & Volberda, H. W. (2008). Senior team attributes and organizational ambidexterity: The moderating role of transformational leadership. Journal of Management Studies, 45(5), 982-1007. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2008.00775.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2008... ); Lubatkin et al. (2006Lubatkin, M. H., Simsek, Z., Ling, Y., & Veiga, J. F. (2006). Ambidexterity and performance in small-to medium-sized firms: The pivotal role of top management team behavioral integration. Journal of Management, 32(5), 646-672. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206306290712 https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206306290712... ); Smith and Tushman (2005Smith, W. K., & Tushman, M. L. (2005). Managing strategic contradictions: A top management model for managing innovation streams. Organization Science, 16(5), 522-536. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0134 https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0134... ).
Transformational leadership by the CEO	Transformational leadership was observed as one of the main factors for innovation in organizations. Transformational leadership aims to engage individuals in search of bonds that increase the level of motivation of those led. Leadership’s empowerment² and the leader’s commitment to continuous improvement (CI) and innovation are associated with contextual ambidexterity at the organizational unit level.	Avolio, Bass and Jung (1999Avolio, B. J., Bass, B. M., & Jung, D. I. (1999). Re-examining the components of transformational and transactional leadership using the multifactor leadership questionnaire. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72(4), 441-462. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317999166789 https://doi.org/10.1348/096317999166789... ); Jung, Chow and Wu (2003); Masood, Dani, Burns and Backhouse (2006Masood, S. A., Dani, S. S., Burns, N. D., & Backhouse, G. J. (2006). Transformational leadership and organizational culture: The situational strength perspective. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 220(6), 941-949. https://doi.org/10.1243/09544054JEM499 https://doi.org/10.1243/09544054JEM499... ); Assen (2019Assen, M. F. van. (2019). Empowering leadership and contextual ambidexterity - The mediating role of committed leadership for continuous improvement. European Management Journal, 38(3), 435-449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.12.002 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.12.00... ).
Role of CEO cognition	CEO goals orientation is conceptualized as motivations that shape what individuals generally seek to accomplish when engaging in challenging tasks. … “goal orientations describe CEOs’ deeper motivation, cognition, and values, through which they evaluate the external environment and take specific decisions and actions when leading their firms to adopt complex strategic orientations such as an ambidextrous orientation” (Mammassis & Kostopoulos, 2019Mammassis, C. S., & Kostopoulos, K. C. (2019). CEO goal orientations, environmental dynamism and organizational ambidexterity: An investigation in SMEs. European Management Journal, 37(5), 577-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.08.012 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.08.01... , pp. 577-578).	Mammassis and Kostopoulos (2019Mammassis, C. S., & Kostopoulos, K. C. (2019). CEO goal orientations, environmental dynamism and organizational ambidexterity: An investigation in SMEs. European Management Journal, 37(5), 577-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.08.012 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.08.01... ); Porac and Thomas (2002Porac, J. F., & Thomas, H. (2002). Managing cognition and strategy: Issues, trends and future directions. In Handbook of Strategy and Management (pp. 165-181). Londron, UK: Sage Publications. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781848608313.n8 http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781848608313.... ); Pryor, Holmes, Webb and Liguori (2019Pryor, C., Holmes, R. M., Webb, J. W., & Liguori, E. W. (2019). Top executive goal orientations’ effects on environmental scanning and performance: Differences between founders and nonfounders. Journal of Management, 45(5), 1958-1986. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206317737354 https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206317737354... ); Wilms, Winnen and Lanwehr (2019Wilms, R., Winnen, L. A., & Lanwehr, R. (2019). Top Managers’ cognition facilitate organisational ambidexterity: The mediating role of cognitive processes. European Management Journal, 37(5), 589-600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.03.006 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.03.00... ).
Dynamism of the environment	... different types of CEO objective guidelines (learning, approach, and prevention) can facilitate or hinder ambidexterity, and that these effects are conditioned by the level of dynamism³ of the environment to which the organization is situated. The moderating effect of the dynamics of the environment was observed as a condition of the effectiveness of the top management team (TMT - including CEO and senior executives) in promoting the balance between exploitation and exploration. … Environmental munificence can represent the opportunities and availability of resources that organizations are subject to, resources that both exploitation and exploration require.	Fourné, Rosenbusch, Heyden and Jansen (2019Fourné, S. P. L., Rosenbusch, N., Heyden, M. L. M., & Jansen, J. J. P. (2019). Structural and contextual approaches to ambidexterity: A meta-analysis of organizational and environmental contingencies. European Management Journal, 37(5), 564-576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.04.002 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.04.00... ); Gupta et al. (2006Gupta, A. K., Smith, K. E. N. G., & Shalley, C. E. (2006). The interplay between exploration and exploitation. Academy of Management Journal, 49(4), 693-706. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-067X20140000014020 https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-067X201400... ); Halevi, Carmeli and Brueller (2015Halevi, M. Y., Carmeli, A., & Brueller, N. N. (2015). Ambidexterity in SBUs: TMT Behavioral Integration and Environmental Dynamism. Human Resource Management, 54(May), s223-s238. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21665 https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21665... ); Mammassis and Kostopoulos (2019Mammassis, C. S., & Kostopoulos, K. C. (2019). CEO goal orientations, environmental dynamism and organizational ambidexterity: An investigation in SMEs. European Management Journal, 37(5), 577-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.08.012 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2019.08.01... ); Nadkarni and Chen (2014Nadkarni, S., & Chen, J. (2014). Bridging yesterday, today, and tomorrow: CEO temporal focus, environmental dynamism, and rate of new product introduction. Academy of Management Journal, 57(6), 1810-1833. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0401 https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0401... ).

Hypothetical model	Reference
	Adapted from Stubner, Blarr, Brands and Wulf (2012Stubner, S., Blarr, W. H., Brands, C., & Wulf, T. (2012). Organizational ambidexterity and family firm performance. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 25(2), 217-229. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2012.10593570 https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2012.10... , p. 220). Copyright © 2012, Taylor & Francis. Acknowledgments to Taylor & Francis.
	Adapted from Wei, Zhao, and Zhang (2014Wei, Z., Zhao, J., & Zhang, C. (2014). Organizational ambidexterity, market orientation, and firm performance. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 33, 134-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jengtecman.2014.06.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jengtecman.201... , p. 138). Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Inc. Acknowledgments to Elsevier B.V.
	Adapted from Popadić et al. (2015Popadić, M., Černe, M., & Milohnić, I. (2015). Organizational ambidexterity, exploration, exploitation and firms innovation performance. Organizacija, 48(2), 112-119. https://doi.org/10.1515/orga-2015-0006 https://doi.org/10.1515/orga-2015-0006... , p. 115). Copyright © 2015, Sciendo. Acknowledgments to Sciendo.
	Cao, Gedajlovic and Zhang (2001Cao, Q., Gedajlovic, E., & Zhang, H. (2001). Unpacking organizational ambidexterity: Dimensions, contingencies, and synergistic effects. Organization Science, 12(3), 391-392. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.12.3.391.10102 https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.12.3.391.10... , p. 38). Copyright © 2009, Informs. Acknowledgments to Informs.

Title	Last author	Year	Citations	Graph citations
Ambidextrous organizations: managing evolutionary and revolutionary change	Charles A. O’Reilly	1996	3,487	34
The antecedents, consequences, and mediating role of organizational ambidexterity	Cristina B. Gibson	2004	2,303	32
Organizational ambidexterity: balancing exploitation and exploration for sustained performance	Michael L. Tushman	2009	1,569	31
Exploration vs. exploitation: an empirical test of the ambidexterity hypothesis	Poh-Kam Wong	2004	2,581	31
Organizational ambidexterity: antecedents, outcomes, and moderators	Julian Birkinshaw	2008	1,751	30
Ambidexterity and performance in small- to medium-sized firms: the pivotal role of top management team behavioral integration	John F. Veiga	2006	1,373	30
The ambidextrous organization	Michael L. Tushman	2004	1,888	28
Managing strategic contradictions: a top management model for managing innovation streams	Michael L. Tushman	2005	1,481	26
Unpacking organizational ambidexterity: dimensions, contingencies, and synergistic effects	Hongping Zhang	2009	830	25
The interplay between exploration and exploitation.	Christina E. Shalley	2006	2,358	25

Database	Search string	Results	Included
Web of Science	TOPIC: (“dynamic ambidexterity”) OR TOPIC: (“organizational ambidexterity”) AND TOPIC: (“dynamic capabilities”) Stipulated time: Every year. Indexes: SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI, A&HCI, CPCI-S, CPCI-SSH, ESCI.	135	46
Scopus	(TITLE-ABS-KEY (“dynamic ambidexterity”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“organizational ambidexterity”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (“dynamic capabilities”))	42	12
ieeeXplore	(“All Metadata”:dynamic ambidexterity) OR (“All Metadata”:organizational ambidexterity) AND (“All Metadata”:dynamic capabilities)	20	1
EBSCOhost	TI “dynamic ambidexterity” OR SU “dynamic ambidexterity” OR TI “organizational ambidexterity” OR SU “organizational ambidexterity” AND SU “dynamic capabilities”	15	2
ScienceDirect	Title, abstract, keywords: ((“dynamic ambidexterity” OR “organizational ambidexterity”) AND “dynamic capabilities”)	10	0
Grand total:		222	61

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Dynamic Ambidexterity: Proposal of a Theoretical and Hypothetical Model

Ambidestria Dinâmica: Proposta de um Modelo Teórico e Hipotético

ABSTRACT

Context:

Objective:

Methodology:

Results:

Conclusion: