Organizational ambidexterity: antecedents, performance and environmental uncertainty

Abstract

PurposeThis paper is to examine whether organizational ambidexterity leads to success. Moreover, it attempts to understand how proactiveness and quality orientation might create and maintain ambidexterity. Environmental uncertainty as a moderator is also examined.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve these objectives an empirical survey was conducted among 449 firms in Greece. Initially, EFA and then CFA were applied. Finally, the structural relationships among the latent factors were determined through SEM.FindingsOrganizational ambidexterity leads to superior business performance, moreover, the two antecedents were positively related to organizational ambidexterity. Environmental uncertainty acts as a moderator between organizational ambidexterity– business performance and proactiveness–organizational ambidexterity.Research limitations/implicationsA research challenge is to understand how organizations develop ambidexterity competency in different organizational structure. Moreover, it will be important to expand the model by taking into consideration different factors of antecedents, for example, type of innovation or different strategic orientations.Practical implicationsThis study sends the message that companies focussing on specific antecedents can be led to higher ambidexterity capabilities, which in turn act as a catalyst for business improvement.Originality/valueThe proposed model provides plausible guidelines that advance organizational ambidexterity research in the companies.