Organizational ambidexterity and competitive advantage: The role of strategic agility in the exploration-exploitation paradox
Attaining competitive advantage is especially crucial for innovative firms. Due to increased competition, firms employ various types of innovation activities to position themselves against their competitors. Ambidexterity and strategic agility have been found to strengthen this position. Whereas sch...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Innovation & Knowledge |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2444569X20300317 |
| _version_ | 1823965702187384832 |
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| author | Thomas Clauss Sascha Kraus Friedrich Lukas Kallinger Peter M. Bican Alexander Brem Norbert Kailer |
| author_facet | Thomas Clauss Sascha Kraus Friedrich Lukas Kallinger Peter M. Bican Alexander Brem Norbert Kailer |
| author_sort | Thomas Clauss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Attaining competitive advantage is especially crucial for innovative firms. Due to increased competition, firms employ various types of innovation activities to position themselves against their competitors. Ambidexterity and strategic agility have been found to strengthen this position. Whereas scholars analyzed strategic agility’s and ambidexterity’s impact on organizational performance, ambidexterity’s impact on the competitive advantage of organizations remains largely unexplored. Tensions between exploration and exploitation within an ambidextrous strategy make it difficult to reap benefits in establishing competitive advantage. Contrary, strategic agility centers on organization’s capacities to quickly respond to shifting demand, hence, increasing its competitive advantage. Through a mixed-method approach, comprising of a literature review and quantitative analyses of 150 German mid-sized firms in the engineering industry, it is demonstrated how ambidexterity, exploration and exploitation, in conjunction with strategic agility, affect the competitive advantage of firms. In order to sustain, firms should either favor an exploration strategy of innovation processes to come up with radically new knowledge, products and services, or combine an exploitation strategy with strategic agility. A strategy of sole exploitation is not beneficial towards increased competitive advantage, while an ambidextrous strategy seems to even negatively influence the competitive advantage of a firm. Resumen: Lograr una ventaja competitiva es crucial para las empresas innovadoras. Como consecuencia del aumento de la competencia, las empresas utilizan diversos tipos de actividades innovadoras para posicionarse frente a sus competidores. Se ha descubierto que la ambidestreza y la agilidad estratégica fortalecen esta posición. Diversos estudios han analizado el impacto de la agilidad estratégica y la ambidestreza en el desempeño organizacional. Sin embargo, el impacto de la ambidestreza en la ventaja competitiva de las organizaciones permanece en gran parte inexplorado. Las tensiones entre la exploración y la explotación que definen una estrategia ambidiestra aumentan la dificultad de obtener beneficios al establecer una ventaja competitiva. Por el contrario, la agilidad estratégica se centra en las capacidades de la organización para responder rápidamente a la demanda cambiante y, por lo tanto, aumentar su ventaja competitiva. Mediante un enfoque de método mixto, que comprende tanto una revisión de la literatura como el análisis cuantitativos de 150 empresas medianas alemanas en la industria de la ingeniería, se demuestra cómo la ambidestreza, la exploración y la explotación, junto con la agilidad estratégica, afectan a la ventaja competitiva. Para ser sostenibles en el largo plazo, las empresas deben favorecer una estrategia de exploración de procesos de innovación para generar conocimientos, productos y servicios radicalmente nuevos, o combinar una estrategia de explotación con la agilidad estratégica. Una estrategia de explotación exclusiva no es beneficiosa para una mayor ventaja competitiva, mientras que una estrategia ambidiestra parece incluso influir negativamente en la ventaja competitiva. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T18:01:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-18b0bf7fbd08427493bca71c21c986b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2444-569X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T18:01:14Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Innovation & Knowledge |
| spelling | doaj.art-18b0bf7fbd08427493bca71c21c986b02022-12-21T21:38:19ZengElsevierJournal of Innovation & Knowledge2444-569X2021-10-0164203213Organizational ambidexterity and competitive advantage: The role of strategic agility in the exploration-exploitation paradoxThomas Clauss0Sascha Kraus1Friedrich Lukas Kallinger2Peter M. Bican3Alexander Brem4Norbert Kailer5Witten/Herdecke University, Witten Institute for Family Business, Chair of Corporate Entrepreneurship and Digitalization in Family Firms, Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50, 58448 Witten, Germany; Corresponding author.Durham University, Durham University Business School, Mill Hill Lane, Durham DH1 3LB, United KingdomJohannes Kepler University Linz, Institute for Entrepreneurship and Organizational Development, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, AustriaFriedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Technology Management, Dr.-Mack-Str. 81, 90762 Fürth, GermanyGermany University of Stuttgart, Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Science, Pfaffenwaldring 19, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany; Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Alsion 2, 6400 Sonderborg, DenmarkJohannes Kepler University Linz, Institute for Entrepreneurship and Organizational Development, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, AustriaAttaining competitive advantage is especially crucial for innovative firms. Due to increased competition, firms employ various types of innovation activities to position themselves against their competitors. Ambidexterity and strategic agility have been found to strengthen this position. Whereas scholars analyzed strategic agility’s and ambidexterity’s impact on organizational performance, ambidexterity’s impact on the competitive advantage of organizations remains largely unexplored. Tensions between exploration and exploitation within an ambidextrous strategy make it difficult to reap benefits in establishing competitive advantage. Contrary, strategic agility centers on organization’s capacities to quickly respond to shifting demand, hence, increasing its competitive advantage. Through a mixed-method approach, comprising of a literature review and quantitative analyses of 150 German mid-sized firms in the engineering industry, it is demonstrated how ambidexterity, exploration and exploitation, in conjunction with strategic agility, affect the competitive advantage of firms. In order to sustain, firms should either favor an exploration strategy of innovation processes to come up with radically new knowledge, products and services, or combine an exploitation strategy with strategic agility. A strategy of sole exploitation is not beneficial towards increased competitive advantage, while an ambidextrous strategy seems to even negatively influence the competitive advantage of a firm. Resumen: Lograr una ventaja competitiva es crucial para las empresas innovadoras. Como consecuencia del aumento de la competencia, las empresas utilizan diversos tipos de actividades innovadoras para posicionarse frente a sus competidores. Se ha descubierto que la ambidestreza y la agilidad estratégica fortalecen esta posición. Diversos estudios han analizado el impacto de la agilidad estratégica y la ambidestreza en el desempeño organizacional. Sin embargo, el impacto de la ambidestreza en la ventaja competitiva de las organizaciones permanece en gran parte inexplorado. Las tensiones entre la exploración y la explotación que definen una estrategia ambidiestra aumentan la dificultad de obtener beneficios al establecer una ventaja competitiva. Por el contrario, la agilidad estratégica se centra en las capacidades de la organización para responder rápidamente a la demanda cambiante y, por lo tanto, aumentar su ventaja competitiva. Mediante un enfoque de método mixto, que comprende tanto una revisión de la literatura como el análisis cuantitativos de 150 empresas medianas alemanas en la industria de la ingeniería, se demuestra cómo la ambidestreza, la exploración y la explotación, junto con la agilidad estratégica, afectan a la ventaja competitiva. Para ser sostenibles en el largo plazo, las empresas deben favorecer una estrategia de exploración de procesos de innovación para generar conocimientos, productos y servicios radicalmente nuevos, o combinar una estrategia de explotación con la agilidad estratégica. Una estrategia de explotación exclusiva no es beneficiosa para una mayor ventaja competitiva, mientras que una estrategia ambidiestra parece incluso influir negativamente en la ventaja competitiva.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2444569X20300317Strategic agilityFirm innovationAmbidexterityCompetitive advantageStrategy |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Clauss Sascha Kraus Friedrich Lukas Kallinger Peter M. Bican Alexander Brem Norbert Kailer Organizational ambidexterity and competitive advantage: The role of strategic agility in the exploration-exploitation paradox Journal of Innovation & Knowledge Strategic agility Firm innovation Ambidexterity Competitive advantage Strategy |
| title | Organizational ambidexterity and competitive advantage: The role of strategic agility in the exploration-exploitation paradox |
| title_full | Organizational ambidexterity and competitive advantage: The role of strategic agility in the exploration-exploitation paradox |
| title_fullStr | Organizational ambidexterity and competitive advantage: The role of strategic agility in the exploration-exploitation paradox |
| title_full_unstemmed | Organizational ambidexterity and competitive advantage: The role of strategic agility in the exploration-exploitation paradox |
| title_short | Organizational ambidexterity and competitive advantage: The role of strategic agility in the exploration-exploitation paradox |
| title_sort | organizational ambidexterity and competitive advantage the role of strategic agility in the exploration exploitation paradox |
| topic | Strategic agility Firm innovation Ambidexterity Competitive advantage Strategy |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2444569X20300317 |
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