Ambidexterity in the Context of Time: A Longitudinal Case Study

Abstract

Many aspects of 'ambidexterity', where firms simultaneously exploit current and explore new competencies, have been discussed in the literature from various theoretical perspectives. It is fascinating to note, however, that despite numerous theoretical and conceptual papers, including several literature reviews, offering essential insights on the antecedents, moderators, and outcomes of organisational ambidexterity, little is known about how ambidexterity evolves over time and both structural and contextual ambidexterity omit time as a component of the "ambidexterity debate". This motivates the study to foreground time in ambidexterity across multiple levels of analysis and generates the specific research question answered in this thesis: How does ambidexterity evolve over time?

The thesis begins with a systematic literature review on ambidexterity in the context of time across multiple levels of analysis. Then a detailed longitudinal case study resented that highlighted the evolution - from 2004 to 2023 - of a fast-growing digital technology company, Alpha. The detailed description captures the firms' changing business model in three phases. Analysis of the detail of the case over time allows for a 'temporal unpacking' of key ambidexterity constructs, exploration, and exploitation. Suck unpacking enabled by observing key questions around tempo, firm age, and time-related factors such as organisational size and duration/scale of R&D. Central to the sensemaking is the inclusion of multilevel analysis, addressing more micro questions of founders and intellectual capital alongside themes like operating efficiency and client relationship development.

To better understand and unpack the evaluation of ambidexterity over time. This thesis offers three in-depth insights: Initial Impulse, Transitions Points, and Tempo. The first theme is initiating the Initial Impulse. This insight unpacks the longitudinal study of a firm from its inception and gives greater clarity to the role of founders and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship researchers (among many other scholars) have used the term 'bootstrapping' to describe an 'endogenous' approach founders use to enable nascent firms to develop their capabilities and pursue opportunities. Is this concept, at the very least, analogous to ambidexterity? Deploying this bootstrapping ambidexterity concept helps illustrate the critical role of human capital and behavioural integration in balancing exploration and exploitation. The second insight, after in-depth analysis at the project level, reveals the significance of transition points between exploration and exploitation. Across a portfolio of multiple projects, this can give the effect of organisational ambidexterity but suggests that understanding these transitions can offer important conceptual and pragmatic insights into the role of liminality in the micro-foundations of ambidexterity. Lastly, the notion of Tempo with a closer investigation of the apparent simultaneity of exploration, and exploitation, revealed significant variation in ‘clock speeds’ between different projects within the firm, sometimes synchronous with and occasionally asynchronous to a specific client and more comprehensive ‘industry’ clock speeds.

The thesis concludes with reflections on these limitations and suggestions for further work.

Date of Award	4 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	School of Management
Supervisor	Juani Swart (Supervisor) & Michael Lewis (Supervisor)