Ambidextrous Strategies and Supply Chain Adaptability: A Congruence Approach

Abstract

The learning strategy of supply chain members is a key determinant of adapting to long-term, structural market, and environmental changes. Drawing upon the organizational learning and dynamic capability theory, this study aims to examine the effects of different ambidextrous supply chain strategies on supply chain adaptability and their boundary conditions in a congruence approach. A survey research design is conducted to collect primary data from 241 Chinese manufacturing firms. We use the polynomial regression and response surface techniques to test the impacts of ambidextrous supply chain strategies on supply chain adaptability. The findings show that the higher the congruence degree between supply chain exploitation and exploration, the more it contributes to supply chain adaptability; when the two are highly congruent, the supply chain adaptability under the high-exploitation/high-exploration strategy is significantly higher than that under the low-exploitation/low-exploration strategy. Under a certain degree of incongruence between the two kinds of strategies, the low-exploitation/high-exploration strategy produces significantly higher supply chain adaptability than does a high-exploitation/low-exploration strategy. We also demonstrate that competitive intensity and government support indeed play moderating effects. This research contributes by identifying four kinds of ambidextrous supply chain strategies and exploring the heterogeneous impacts on supply chain adaptability.