Organizational Ambidexterity

Abstract

AbstractIt is not possible for businesses to implement their strategic plans without changing them as the organizations that operate in a constantly changing environment and are not independent and nisolated from their environment. In the strategic management of organizations, it is important to organize and store all kinds of information (qualitative and quantitative) obtained under uncertain and variable conditions, to predict risks, and to take effective decisions by evaluating all resources and opportunities. Therefore, while the organizations need to look for most efficient ways of benefiting the resources they have, they ought to evaluate the opportunities around them. Even though it requires opposing strategies in organizational management, being able to use these two approaches at the same time is expressed with the concept of ambidexterity as an organizational capability. When organizational ambidexterity is considered with its structural dimension; it is the ability of reshaping the resources and capabilities of the enterprise according to changing conditions (exploitation), within the same process, by acquiring new resources and developing new skills (exploration) to evaluate the opportunities that occur in the environment, that is, the ability to carry out this process together. When it is considered with its contextual dimension; it is the ability to carrying out the activities within the organization in harmony (alignment) on one side, on the other side, it is the ability to restructure its activities in business units to meet the changing expectations and needs of consumers (adaptability). In this context, organizations with ambidexterity, which can be considered as a dynamic capability, can ensure sustainable competitive advantage by increasing their organizational performance both in the short run and in the long run. This study is conducted to research the impact of strategic leadership and organizational ambidexterity skills on the strategic agility of the organization by examining the literature on the subject. Furthermore, the role of organizational ambidexterity in the impact of strategic leadership on strategic agility of the organization is investigated. This study consists of four parts. In the first part, ambidexterity concept is discussed, and then the issue of organizational ambidexterity is explained with its dimensions. Exploratory and beneficiary innovation abilities and also adaptability and customization are examined as sub dimensions. In the second part, strategic leadership issue is being explained. Firstly it is handled conceptually; then follows the review in five dimensions as managerial strategic leadership, transformational strategic leadership, political strategic leadership, communicative strategic leadership and ethical strategic leadership. The third part focuses on strategic agility. The occurrence of agility concept, the concept of organizational agility and the importance of agility are explained; and agility in organizations with its competence, flexibility, responsiveness and speed dimensions is discussed. In the fourth part, place is given to field study, and the results are evaluated by analyzing the data obtained from the questionnaires applied to the managers of large and medium-sized enterprises. Organizational ambidexterity concept came up with Duncan’s study he made in 1976 (Kauppila in Strateg Org 8(4):283–312, 2010). Successful organizations being versatile and coherent in management of today’s business demands (Duncan in J Pers Soc Psychol 34:590, 1976; Tushman and O’Reilly in Calif Manage Rev 38:8–30, 1996) along with them displaying behavioral models adaptable to the changes that may occur in their environment in the future (Gibson and Birkinshaw in Acad Manage J 47(2):209–226, 2004) became a prominent subject. Such kinds of organizations are those, skilled and effectively adaptable to changes in their internal and external environments simultaneously, namely the organizations having ambidexterity competence. Therefore, the study of Duncan generated a stimulating effect and it has become an issue of increasing interest of the researchers working on management, strategy and organization (Raisch and Birkinshaw in J Manage 34(3):375–409, 2008). However, it seems that, more studies are needed.KeywordsAmbidexterityExploitationExplorationAlignmentAdaptability