Purpose Creativity fosters innovativeness, competitiveness and sustained success. This study aims to evaluate the mediating role of employee creativity in the nexus of human resource management (HRM) practice and organizational ambidexterity. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 973 employees of 75 health care institutions comprising 48 (indigenously-owned) and 27 (internationally-owned). The positivist paradigm was adopted. Construct validity and reliability were established using confirmatory factor analysis. The study hypotheses and proposed model were evaluated using structural equation modeling Findings The study’s results show that ability-enhancing practices and organizational ambidexterity were positively related. Motivation-enhancing practices and organizational ambidexterity were positively related. Opportunity-enhancing practices and organizational ambidexterity were nonsignificantly related. Employee creativity mediates the ability-enhancing practices and organizational ambidexterity relationship. Similarly, employee creativity mediates the motivation-enhancing practices and organizational ambidexterity relationship. Nonetheless, employee creativity did not mediate the opportunity-enhancing practices and organizational ambidexterity relationship. Research limitations/implications The generalizability of the findings will be constrained due to the research’s health care focus and cross-sectional data. Practical implications The findings of the study would provide valuable insight to stakeholder’s, policy makers and management of health care institutions in developing a supportive work environment that promote the generation of originality and novelty in ideas to ensure institutional competitiveness, competencies and innovativeness. Originality/value By evidencing empirically that employee creativity mediates the ability-enhancing practices, motivation-enhancing practices and organizational ambidexterity relationship, the study extends the literature on employee creativity, HRM practices and organizational ambidexterity.

Purpose This study aims to analyse how the business environment and digital maturity influence companies' ability to develop social innovation and to explore the moderating role that business model innovation (BMI) can play in these relationships. The research seeks to provide new evidence on the interaction between internal capabilities and external contexts in the generation of innovation with social impact. Design/methodology/approach The research is based on data from Eurobarometer Flash 486, which includes a representative sample of 12,615 companies in the European Union. Using a multivariate regression approach, the individual and combined effects of the business environment, digital maturity and BMI on social innovation are evaluated. The theoretical framework integrates the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities theory, open innovation theory, institutional theory and social innovation systems. Findings The results confirm that both a favourable business environment and greater digital maturity are positively associated with social innovation. However, the most relevant finding shows a negative moderating effect of the BMI on the relationship between digital maturity and social innovation, suggesting organisational tensions arising from simultaneous digital and structural transformations, such as resource overload and ambidexterity challenges in balancing efficiency and social goals. This result underscores the non-linear nature of capability interactions and the importance of proper strategic alignment. On its own, digital maturity has a positive and significant effect, establishing itself as a key organisational capability for addressing social challenges through innovative solutions. Originality/value This work contributes to a more systemic and contingent understanding of social innovation in organisations. Integrating technological, contextual and strategic lenses, we challenge the assumption of linear complementarity among capabilities and, using paradox theory, theorise the tensions in capability orchestration that shape social innovation outcomes. The findings yield practical implications for managers and policymakers, including sector-specific guidance for organisations in education and healthcare. They also open new research avenues on organisational ambidexterity and capability orchestration in sustainability-oriented companies.

The tire industry, as a long-established and mature sector, is undergoing a profound transformation driven by electrification, smart manufacturing, and sustainability. In this context, efficiency-oriented strategies and incremental improvements can no longer ensure long-term competitiveness. Using Michelin as a case study, this paper examines how open innovation operates as an organizational mechanism for fostering ambidexterity by balancing exploitation with the development of exploration capabilities. The findings reveal that Michelin integrates external knowledge through inbound, outbound, and coupled open innovation, while employing structural and domain separation to absorb, recombine, and institutionalize exploratory initiatives within core operations. This dual approach enables the firm to preserve efficiency advantages while cultivating adaptive capacity under technological and regulatory uncertainty. The study extends theories of open innovation and organizational ambidexterity to a mature manufacturing context and highlights the organizational conditions under which openness supports, rather than undermines, strategic renewal. It also offers practical implications for incumbent firms pursuing strategic transformation under uncertain technological and policy environments.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the mediating roles of open innovation and organizational ambidexterity in the relationship between performance management systems and business performance within Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and their subsidiaries. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative analysis was conducted using survey data collected from a sample of Indonesian SOEs and subsidiaries. A multi-mediation research framework was developed, and the partial least squares-structural equation model was used to analyze and test the hypotheses. Findings This study found that performance management systems positively affects business performance, with this relationship mediated by organizational ambidexterity. While open innovation does not mediate this relationship, it contributes to a sequential mediation process involving organizational ambidexterity. Specifically, the results show that sequential mediation effects exist whereby performance management systems influence business performance through open innovation and then organizational ambidexterity. Research limitations/implications This research primarily focuses on Indonesian SOEs holding companies and subsidiaries; therefore, caution is needed when generalizing the results to other companies. The results suggest that managers must effectively manage their performance management systems, open innovation and organizational ambidexterity to enhance business performance. Originality/value This study makes three major contributions. First, it establishes a distinctive research framework by examining the sequential effects of open innovation and organizational ambidexterity on performance management systems and business performance – a previously unexplored avenue. Second, this study provides a richer understanding of business performance drivers by revealing the mediating effects of open innovation and organizational ambidexterity. Third, this study addresses a gap in the literature by examining the unique setting of Indonesian SOEs and their subsidiaries within an emerging market, a rarely explored context.

Lebanon, a crisis-affected region, has witnessed an active presence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that play a crucial role in addressing developmental challenges. NGO’s strategic adaptability is required to sustain activities in a volatile environment. While dynamic capabilities sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring have been thoroughly investigated within corporations, they remain poorly understood in NGOs. This research studies the impact of dynamic capabilities on the sustainability performance of NGOs in Lebanon. It also investigates the role of organizational ambidexterity in mediating the relationship between dynamic capabilities and sustainability performance. The paper uses a quantitative approach, utilizing a structured survey questionnaire aimed at managers in NGOs. The analysis employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the relationships between dynamic capabilities, sustainability performance, and organizational ambidexterity. A total of 407 managers from diverse NGOs participated in the survey, providing data to evaluate the proposed hypotheses. The structural model demonstrated robust explanatory power, with R² values of 0.551 for sustainability performance. The findings reveal that reconfiguring (RC) and seizing (SEC) capabilities significantly influenced both OA and OS (p-value < 0.01). Notably, sensing capabilities (SC) impacted sustainability only through the mediating path of OA (beta = 0.067, p-value = 0.009). Organizational ambidexterity was found to be a powerful predictor of sustainability (beta = 0.434, p-value = 0.000) and serves as a vital mediator for all dynamic capabilities. These results suggest that NGOs in Lebanon achieve sustainability by leveraging dynamic capabilities to balance exploration and exploitation strategies, navigating environmental turbulence through strategic flexibility.

This study examines the effects of organizational ambidexterity and innovation on the marketing performance of Indonesian coffee shop MSMEs. Using survey data from 203 MSMEs and analyzed with SEM-PLS, the findings reveal that innovation has a strong and significant positive effect on marketing performance, reflected in sales growth, customer satisfaction, and market expansion. In contrast, organizational ambidexterity does not have a significant direct impact on marketing performance. This result indicates that, in resource-constrained MSMEs, ambidexterity functions primarily as a supporting capability that sustains innovation rather than as a direct driver of market outcomes. The novelty of this study lies in demonstrating that ambidexterity’s contribution to MSME performance is predominantly indirect and context-dependent, particularly in service-based MSMEs within developing economies. The findings suggest that MSMEs should prioritize innovation as a core strategy to enhance marketing performance while maintaining ambidexterity to support long-term innovation sustainability.

This study takes a unique approach to understanding the implementation of a whole-system place-based strategy to improve health and reduce health inequalities, using ambidextrous organisational theory. The data consisted of the secondary analysis of 23 strategy documents in one local authority, and interviews (n = 22) with local decision-makers, front-line workers, and service users. Our analysis highlights the tensions inherent in British Local Authorities (LAs), which in times of austerity have increasingly been expected to perform as financially self-sufficient, while meeting their health inequalities targets. Increasingly, LAs can be seen as being characterised by goal incoherence, with competing institutional logics. This leads them to exist in a paradoxical reality, leading to ambiguity and unease in the workforce, which can be reconciled through the generation of creative solutions. Organisations such as LAs can meet both of their social and financial performance ambitions by acknowledging, and working through, simultaneous strategic and operational needs, which capitalise on the potential of both exploration of new solutions and the exploitation of what already works well. Decision-makers need to see goals as not mutually exclusive, and instead engage in strategy discussions that lead to coordinated actions across the full range of ambitions. We highlight the potential contribution of the concept of ambidexterity to help LAs manage their competing priorities. It puts forward the concept of LAs as hybrid organisations with politically appointed boards and professional organisational units that intrinsically manoeuvre between mission and market orientation.

Organizations increasingly rely on data visualization platforms to translate analytics into managerial action, yet prior research offers limited theoretical explanation for why similar tools produce divergent organizational outcomes. This study develops a conceptual framework that links visualization design philosophy (dashboard-centric versus workflow-centric), user cognitive strategies (monitoring versus exploration), organizational context (governance-oriented versusexperimentation-oriented), and analytical outcomes (operational control versus innovation). Drawing on theories of sensemaking, digital governance, and organizational ambidexterity, the paper advances six propositions specifying how visualization paradigms shape analytical reasoning, how cognitive strategies mediate the relationship between tool design and outcomes, and how organizational context moderates these effects. The framework further introduces the notion ofcognitive ambidexterity enabled by hybrid visualization environments that integrate standardized reporting with exploratory modelling.By reframing visualization systems as cognitive infrastructures embedded within organizational logics, the study contributes to analytics and information systems theory and offers a foundation for future empirical research on the strategic value of visual analytics. Keywords: Visual Analytics, Business Intelligence Systems, Data Mining Tools, User Sensemaking, Analytics Governance, Cognitive Fit

ABSTRACT This study investigates how senior managers’ cognitive capabilities influence organizational ambidexterity—the ability to balance exploration and exploitation—in dynamic environments. Using mixed-methods research with 245 managers across 89 Tunisian organizations and 12 in-depth case studies, we found that cognitive flexibility was the strongest predictor of ambidextrous performance, followed by human and social capital diversity. Strategic decision-making quality partially mediated these relationships, with effects amplified in highly dynamic environments. We identified five mechanisms through which individual cognition aggregates to organizational capabilities: perspective integration, cognitive resource allocation, adaptive learning, network leverage, and decision process enhancement. Building on recent work on innovation microfoundations and entrepreneurial capabilities, our findings extend understanding of how individual-level characteristics create organizational capabilities in emerging markets. For practitioners, our findings provide actionable guidance for leadership selection, cognitive diversity development, and decision-making process improvement—particularly valuable for organizations in emerging markets.

This article develops a conceptual explanation of how Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) acts as a primary driver of organizational ambidexterity by drawing an analogy from research on the social and structural determinants of women’s reproductive health. Health studies consistently show that outcomes are not determined mainly by the presence of medical services, but by contextual factors such as norms, socio-economic conditions, literacy, autonomy, and access that enable individuals to utilize those services effectively. Using this cross-disciplinary insight, the article argues that organizational ambidexterity is not primarily determined by structural design or strategic intent, but by SHRM systems that create enabling conditions for employees to engage in both exploratory and exploitative activities. Employing a conceptual integrative approach, the study maps determinants identified in reproductive health research to their organizational equivalents within SHRM practices and develops a framework positioning SHRM as the contextual architecture that supports ambidexterity. The findings suggest that culture building, empowerment mechanisms, learning systems, access to information, and aligned performance practices are essential HR-driven enablers that allow exploration and exploitation to coexist. The article contributes theoretically by reframing ambidexterity as a human and systemic capability rooted in SHRM, and practically by highlighting the need for organizations to prioritize HR system design alongside technological and structural investments to achieve sustainable performance.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of ta’awun ambidexterity, a new construct based on Islamic principles of collaboration, in improving business performance within Islamic organizations. It specifically examines how organizational culture, including market, clan and adhocracy cultures, influences ta’awun exploitation and exploration, and how these, in turn, affect business performance. This study introduces the concept of ta’awun ambidexterity, which uniquely integrates Islamic ethics with contemporary organizational ambidexterity theory. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design was used, using structural equation modeling with AMOS 24.0. This study surveyed 250 leaders of Muhammadiyah-owned enterprises (Amal Usaha Muhammadiyah [AUM]) in East Java, Indonesia. The research framework was built on organizational learning theory and integrated with Islamic business ethics. The constructs were adapted from the established literature, with ta’awun ambidexterity operationalized using newly validated Islamic business behavior indicators. Findings The findings show that all three cultural dimensions significantly influence ta’awun’s ambidexterity. Market and clan cultures have a strong positive effect on both ta’awun exploitation and exploration. Adhocracy culture significantly affects ta’awun exploration and has a marginal effect on ta’awun exploitation. Furthermore, both ta’awun ambidexterity dimensions significantly contribute to improved business performance. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to Muhammadiyah-owned enterprises in East Java, Indonesia, which may affect the generalizability of the findings to other types of Islamic organizations or regions. The study’s implications suggest that spiritually grounded cooperation can enhance innovation and resource optimization in Islamic organizational settings. This study provides an empirical basis for developing strategic policies for Islamic organizations to reinforce the synergy between adaptive work cultures and Islamic values. Originality/value This study introduces and defines ta’awun ambidexterity as a novel construct, merging Islamic ethics with contemporary organizational theory. By embedding values such as mutual assistance, trust and shared purpose, it offers a distinct perspective on how Islamic organizations can enhance their competitiveness while adhering to their spiritual mission. This study bridges the gap between spirituality and managerial rationality in value-based organizational governance.

This study examines how technology-organization-environment (TOE) readiness (TR), ambidextrous organization (AO), and organizational resilience (OR) influence innovation performance (IP) and competitive advantage (CA) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), focusing on craft-based firms operating in dynamic and uncertain environments. A quantitative research design was chosen to collect survey data from 200 Indonesian craft-based SME owners and managers. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data and examine both direct and indirect relationships among the proposed constructs. The findings demonstrate that TR, AO, and OR each have a significant positive effect on IP. In turn, IP has a strong positive effect on CA, highlighting its key role in converting organizational capabilities into market success as well as a complementary mediating mechanism linking TR, AO, and OR to competitive outcomes. The novel contribution of this study is the empirical integration of TR with internal dynamic capabilities, namely AO and OR, in a single structural model that explains how SMEs transform innovation-related capabilities into CA. This integrative perspective contributes to the literature on SME innovation and offers practical implications for managers and policymakers seeking to strengthen innovation-driven competitiveness and long-term sustainability amid turbulent environmental conditions in emerging market contexts.

Purpose Cloud technology adoption (CTA) serves as a key enabler of digital servitization and business model innovation (BMI) in business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing contexts, shifting firms from product sales to data-driven and outcome-based services. Guided by dynamic capabilities theory, this study aims to explore how organizational ambidexterity mediates the CTA–BMI link and how technological turbulence and internal information technology (IT) capability moderate this pathway. Design/methodology/approach A moderated-mediation model is tested with survey data from 283 Chinese manufacturing firms. Ordinary least-squares regression and bias-corrected bootstrapping are used to assess direct, indirect and contingent paths. Findings CTA positively influences organizational ambidexterity, which in turn drives BMI. Ambidexterity mediates the CTA–BMI link. Technological turbulence amplifies, whereas internal IT capability diminishes the impact of CTA on ambidexterity. Originality/value This study advances B2B marketing and digital servitization scholarship by: (1) identifying organizational ambidexterity as the dynamic capability that turns cloud investments into viable business models and (2) showing how market turbulence and legacy IT capability jointly determine the returns on cloud-enabled innovation. The findings equip managers to align cloud technologies with ambidextrous routines and maximize customer value across shifting environments.

Purpose This study examines how humble leadership boosts organizational ambidexterity and the mediating role of AI adoption in the relationship between leader humility and organizational ambidexterity. Accordingly, it sheds light on how leadership reinforces both AI adoption and ambidexterity in telecommunications firms operating in developing countries that are undergoing rapid digital transformation and high competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a quantitative design based on survey responses from 340 employees in Egypt's telecommunications sector. The hypothesized relationships were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.1.1.5. Findings Statistical analyses indicate that humble leadership positively influences AI adoption and exploration and exploitation, the dimensions of ambidexterity. AI adoption exerts a significant positive effect on both outcomes and partially mediates the relationship between humble leadership and ambidexterity. Practical implications The findings underscore the importance of cultivating humble, learning-oriented leadership to strengthen employees' readiness for AI-enabled processes and enhance ambidextrous performance. For policymakers, the results highlight the need to embed leadership development within national digital transformation agendas to accelerate technology assimilation in emerging markets. Originality/value This study advances the innovation and AI adoption literature by demonstrating that humble leadership functions both as a socio-behavioral driver that directly enhances organizational ambidexterity and as an enabling mechanism that indirectly strengthens ambidexterity through AI adoption. By integrating Upper Echelons Theory with the TOE framework in a developing-country context, the study clarifies how leaders' attributes reinforce AI adoption as an organizational enabler and, in turn, strengthen ambidextrous capabilities.

Purpose In an era marked by ecological pressures and digital disruption, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly challenged to align innovation with sustainability. Building on dynamic capabilities theory, this study aims to investigate how responsible digital transformation (RDT) contributes to sustainable performance and how organisational ambidexterity (OA) reinforces this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative multiple-case study method, this study analyses two SMEs from Morocco and Canada operating in the textile and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis and VOSviewer software to identify the relational patterns among RDT, OA and sustainability outcomes. Findings The results revealed that RDT, when integrated with ethical, environmental and social considerations, enhances sustainable performance beyond operational efficiency. OA acts as a key enabler, allowing SMEs to balance digital exploration (e.g. innovation and market adaptation) and exploitation (e.g. efficiency and cost control). Both firms demonstrate a dynamic and contextual form of ambidexterity embedded in their daily practices. Moreover, this study reveals that external pressures from customers, investors and regulators drive SMEs to pursue responsible innovation. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to explore the interplay among RDT, OA and sustainable performance in SMEs from a dynamic capability perspective. It provides a nuanced understanding of how SMEs can overcome the “digitalisation paradox” and strategically align digital innovation with sustainability goals, offering actionable insights for managers and policymakers.

Purpose This paper identifies an important conceptual gap in service-dominant logic: its lack of focus on competition in complex ecosystems. This paper aims to propose the service duality framework (SDF), which redefines value creation as a dynamic interplay of cooperation and competition. Design/methodology/approach As a conceptual paper, this study draws on an extensive review of SDL literature. By combining perspectives from organizational ambidexterity and strategic management, this paper creates a dual-lens framework to comprehend how companies collaboratively generate value while managing competitive interactions. Findings This paper proposes the SDF, which balances cooperation and competition as dual forces driving value creation. SDF introduces concepts like cooperative advantage, competitive edge and dynamic equilibrium, offering a nuanced perspective on value co-creation. Originality/value This paper enhances SDL theory by explicitly recognizing competition as a concurrent factor alongside cooperation. Basically, it reconfigures SDL’s value co-creation paradigm through the lens of strategic duality. SDF establishes ambidexterity not merely as a contextual factor, but as a core principle essential for value creation.

Global Engineering and R&D service organizations face an enduring challenge: executive strategic visions rarely translate into operational results. This disconnect constrains performance across billion-dollar revenue segments. The Strategic Transformation Office framework provides a solution—a centralized mechanism that bridges boardroom aspirations with ground-level execution. Operating as an executive office extension, the STO unifies three domains: strategic account governance with C-suite advisory, complete M&A integration cycles, and R&D innovation management at scale. Through coordinated governance, deliberate execution strategies, and careful performance monitoring, this framework addresses the layered complexity of global service distribution. At the center, organizational ambidexterity enables businesses to improve existing processes while also creating future capacity by means of specialized institutions. Multiple elements determine success: sincere executive support, methodical talent acquisition, slow release strategies, and complex change management. Large engineering services firms wrestling with coordination tangles, integration obstacles, and innovation demands beyond traditional structures' capabilities will find this model especially relevant.

Abstract The nature of the interaction between activities of exploitation and exploration is a key topic in the study of organizational ambidexterity. The paradoxical relationshipsbetween these dimensions and their influence on performances constitute central questions in the literature. This paper approaches in a novel manner the nature of thetechnological exploitation-exploration relationship and its impact on firm-level growth as a performance. The study results, from a massive sample of European firms,support our arguments, demonstrating the synergetic nature of technological ambidexterity, and the effect of organizational size in this relationship, while alsoshedding light on the debate regarding the optimum equilibrium between exploitation and exploration when seeking firm growth. The most noteworthy findings are asfollows: i) exploitation and exploration normally act as positively correlated, complementary and non-competing forces, ii) size does not exert a significant impacton the synergetic relationship, iii) technological ambidexterity has a favorable impact on growth and reduction of uncertainty, and iv) synergy more plausibly conceptualizesthe phenomenon of technological ambidexterity.

ABSTRACT Since a resilient supply chain needs to balance stability and flexibility, paradox cognition is critical for improving supply chain resilience. However, the role of paradox cognition has remained largely understudied, leaving the underlying mechanisms of such effects unclear. Our study explores how paradox cognition affects proactive and reactive supply chain resilience via organisational ambidexterity, and the moderating roles of organisational slack (i.e. unabsorbed and absorbed slack). Using survey data from 278 firms in China, the results reveal that paradox cognition enhances supply chain resilience. Organisational ambidexterity mediates the impact of paradox cognition on supply chain resilience. In addition, unabsorbed slack alleviates the positive effect of paradox cognition on organisational ambidexterity, while the moderating effect of absorbed slack is insignificant. This study contributes to the existing research on supply chain resilience from a paradox lens and provides novel insights into transforming the benefits of paradox cognition to reinforce supply chain resilience.

In the technological era, changes are happening around the globe at a fast rate. In this regard, healthcare organizations are implementing changes to improve their process. Hence, to manage implemented changes, there is a need to assess AI capabilities, cybernetic thinking (CT), organizational ambidexterity (OA), and employee wellbeing (EWB). However, no validated scale exists specifically to measure the aspects mentioned earlier in the context of healthcare organizations (HCO). Accordingly, our study attempted to validate existing scales of AI capabilities, CT, OA, and EWB in the context of HCO. Besides, to attain this purpose, a pilot study was led on a sample of 150 doctors employed in private sector hospitals in Pakistan, and data were analyzed using CB-SEM. This study confirms the validity and reliability of the refined scale in the context of a Pakistani healthcare setting. From the practical context, healthcare organizations can use the validated scale to assess their capacity towards adopting emerging technologies. These scales can be used to formulate strategies for managing technological change from both organizational and employee perspectives in healthcare settings. In addition, this study offers a multidimensional perspective by integrating diffusion of innovation theory (DOIT) with AI capabilities, EWB, CT, and OA to specify how innovation diffuses across complex systems, such as healthcare settings.