Organizational Ambidexterity: Conceptual Foundations and Modern Approaches

The article analyses transformation of research practices and approaches to understanding organizational ambidexterity, the essence of which is the search for a balance between the exploration (development of radical innovations) and exploitation (development of incremental innovations). The article traces a change in the approach to understanding organizational ambidexterity: from recognizing the irreconcilability of the conflict between exploration and exploitation and, as a result, the need to breed these types of activities in time and space, to the modern strategic perception of incremental and radical innovations from the standpoint of mutual complementation and reinforcement. The author conducted a detailed analysis of sequential, structural, contextual and interorganizational ambidexterity, highlighted their strengths and limitations. Sequential ambidexterity involves the alternation in time of exploration periods and exploitation periods. Structural ambidexterity consists of structural isolation of exploration and exploitation by creating autonomous units. Contextual ambidexterity involves resolving contradictions between exploration and exploitation at the individual level, and the creation of an optimal organizational environment plays an important role here — the social context and the performance management context. Interorganizational ambidexterity involves combining the efforts of different organizations to carry out exploration and exploitation (mergers and acquisitions, alliances). The article also reveals inefficient practices that lead to a decrease in company performance in the implementation of organizational ambidexterity. As a result, the conclusion is made that there is the need for further study of the methods and mechanisms for the practical implementation of organizational ambidexterity, in particular the transition between exploration and exploitation within the framework of sequential ambidexterity, mechanisms for finding the optimal ratio of incremental and radical innovations depending on environmental conditions, as well as the creation of specific tools for evaluating the effectiveness and the prospects of this or that type of ambidexterity for the company, taking into account its impact on the key stakeholders of the organization.

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