ANDRIOPOULOS, C., LEWIS, M. (2009) EXPLOITATION-EXPLORATION TENSIONS AND ORGANIZATIONAL AMBIDEXTERITY Flashcards
What is organizational ambidexterity?
the ability of a firm to balance exploitation and exploration effectively.
Companies that achieve this can both refine existing competencies and develop new opportunities.
Example: A car manufacturer optimizes fuel engines (exploitation) while also developing electric vehicles (exploration).
What are the two approaches to managing ambidexterity?
- Architectural ambidexterity – Creating separate teams or structures for exploitation and exploration.
- Contextual ambidexterity – Embedding a culture that allows individuals to switch between both activities.
Example: A bank has one team focused on improving current financial services (architectural), while encouraging employees to suggest innovative solutions within their regular roles (contextual).
What are the three paradoxes of innovation?
- Strategic intent (Profit vs. Breakthroughs) – Balancing financial stability with radical innovation.
- Customer orientation (Tight vs. Loose Coupling) – Meeting current client needs while seeking new opportunities.
- Personal drivers (Discipline vs. Passion) – Combining structured work with creative energy.
Example: A game development company must meet deadlines (discipline) while allowing creativity to flourish (passion).
What is the Strategic Intent paradox?
Profit vs. Breakthroughs – Balancing financial stability with radical innovation.
What is the Customer Orientation paradox?
Tight vs. Loose Coupling – Meeting current client needs while seeking new opportunities.
What is the Personal Drivers paradox?
Discipline vs. Passion – Combining structured work with creative energy.
How do firms manage the strategic intent paradox?
They use integration (aligning profit goals with innovation) and differentiation (balancing safe and risky projects).
Example: A pharmaceutical company funds research on groundbreaking drugs while ensuring profits through generic medicines.
What does ‘tight vs. loose coupling’ in customer orientation mean?
Tight coupling focuses on fulfilling specific client requirements, while loose coupling allows creativity and exploration.
Example: A furniture company designs chairs based on customer feedback (tight coupling) but also experiments with futuristic designs (loose coupling).
How do organizations balance discipline and passion?
By structuring work while encouraging creative freedom. This is done through rotating projects and clear but flexible roles.
Example: A film production team follows strict deadlines (discipline) while encouraging innovative storytelling (passion).
What are the risks of focusing only on exploitation?
Firms may fall into a competency trap, where over-reliance on existing strengths leads to stagnation and vulnerability to market shifts.
Example: Kodak excelled in film photography but failed to invest in digital cameras, leading to its decline.
What are the risks of focusing only on exploration?
Companies may enter a failure trap, where excessive risk-taking results in wasted resources and instability.
Example: A startup that constantly pivots to new ideas without refining any product might never achieve market success.
Why is a multilevel approach important for managing ambidexterity?
It ensures that top executives, project managers, and employees all contribute to balancing short-term and long-term innovation.
Example: A CEO sets a vision for innovation, project leaders execute it, and employees bring creative ideas while ensuring operational efficiency.
