Ambidexterity

Question 1

What is ambidexterity?

Answer 1

Ambidexterity is the theory that two seemingly opposing activities are both done equally well.

Question 2

What is organizational ambidexterity?

Answer 2

Flexibility vs Efficiency!
Traditional view: You can either be very efficient or very flexible.
New view: Doing both simultaneously requires ambidexterity. Today you can be both by being ambidextrous!

Exploitation (routine work) vs exploration (non-routine work)

1. Exploit existing resources and capabilities (efficient, routine work)
2. Explore new resource for future opportunities (effective, new/non-routine work)

Question 3

What is structural ambidexterity?

Answer 3

BU’s have the freedom to do different things.

Question 4

Mention the three approaches to balance exploitation and exploration.

Answer 4

Sequential Ambidexterity
Structural Ambidexterity
Contextual Ambidexterity

Question 5

What is IT Ambidexterity?

Answer 5

IT ambidexterity is firm’s ability to manage both current and emerging technologies simultaneously

In other words:
IT Ambidexterity is the ability to simultaneously
- exploit (leverage new tech resources and practices) and
- explore (building new, emerging tech resources and practices).

Question 6

Which strategies can a firm turn to, to achieve ambidexterity?

Answer 6

• Staffing: New roles, CDO/CIO, Different task profiles.
• Designing: New org designs, inhouse, lab, cross-functional? Varying designs for established firms.
• Developing: New development practices (Agile etc)

Question 7

How does ambidexterity relate to competitive advantage?

Answer 7

Doing things cheaper/faster and better (Efficiency). A competitive advantage is also to be good at both efficiency and flexibility - Being ambidexter.

Question 8

How does ambidexterity relate to rivalry restraint?

Answer 8

Firms perform better because they restrict competition by maintaining market barriers.

Question 9

How does ambidexterity relate to information asymmetry?

Answer 9

You know more, or you know better than others (Flexibility) - But also being efficient, the company use the information faster and better (Efficiency).

Question 10

How does ambidexterity relate to commitment timing?

Answer 10

How and when firms commits resources flexibly (Flexibility). Instead of organizing IT projects with yearlong commitments, we do agile development where we can meet changing requirements.

Question 11

True or False?

“Ambidexterity describes a firm’s ability to engage in routine and non-routine tasks at the same time”

Answer 11

True

Question 12

Which of the following is associated with ‘routine tasks’?

Exploitation
Efficiency
Utilizing existing resources
All of the above

Answer 12

All of the above

Question 13

Which of these is not usually considered a form of ambidexterity?

Sequential
Structural
Behavioral
Contextual

Answer 13

Behavioral

Question 14

True or False?

“The ability to adequately switch between ‘sequential’, ‘structural’, and ‘contextual’ ambidexterity is called ‘dynamic ambidexterity’. “

Group of answer choices

Answer 14

True

To achieve dynamic ambidexterity, firms need to support structural ambidexterity at the corporate level, contextual ambidexterity at the business-unit level, and sequential ambidexterity at the project level.

Question 15

True or False?

“Structural Ambidexterity describes a situation in which different organizational (sub-)units are tasked with either exploration (non-routine work) or exploitation (routine work).”

Answer 15

False

Structural Ambidexterirty means that a sub unit can do both exploitation and exploration.