Toward a dynamic construction of organizational ambidexterity: Exploring the synergies between structural differentiation, organizational context, and interorganizational relations

Abstract

According to the literature on ambidexterity, organizations can use structural, contextual or interorganizational approaches to simultaneously explore novel opportunities and exploit existing ones. So far, however, the possibility of combining the three approaches to maximize organizational learning has not been investigated. To deepen this aspect, this paper has as its aim, on the one hand, to offer an integrated vision of organizational ambidexterity, proposing and contrasting a model which —under the dynamic capabilities approach— sees ambidexterity as the result of combining the most important antecedent factors mentioned in the literature, but which have hitherto been studied only on an individual basis. We are referring to structural differentiation, organizational context, and interorganizational relations. On the other hand, the model suggested establishes the mediation role exerted by the organizational context between structural differentiation and interorganizational relations when it comes to reaching ambidexterity. Finally, it is our intention to identify the effects of ambidexterity on performance. A variance-based structural equation modeling (Partial Least Squares) was applied to a sample of Spanish hotel firms. The results obtained show that organizational ambidexterity can be reached resolving the exploration and exploitation tensions both across different organizational units (structural differentiation) and choosing to resolve those tensions outside the firm’s boundaries (interorganizational relations), and taking advantage of an organizational context which, in addition to impacting directly on the achievement of ambidexterity, also appears as a mediator variable between the other two antecedents and ambidexterity, which in turn tells us that this context is the one which enables organizations to carry out the integration of the various (internal or external) knowledge sources. On the other hand, the ambidexterity thus defined, has shown a positive result on organizational performance.