Ambidexterity and Ambiguity: The Link Between Ambiguity Management and Contextual Ambidexterity in Innovation

Eric Christian Brun ()
Additional contact information
Eric Christian Brun: Department of Industrial Economics, Risk Management Planning, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway

International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), 2016, vol. 13, issue 04, 1-29

Abstract: The research goal of this paper is to explore and explain the relation between ambiguity management and contextual ambidexterity in innovation. Based on qualitative analysis of case data, a model is presented showing how managing ambiguity is an underlying process of contextual ambidexterity. Requisite variety, perspective-taking and interpretive skills help generate ambiguity to achieve exploration, while analytic skills help reduce ambiguity to achieve exploitation. Contextual ambidexterity is achieved through a process of alternating between generation, sustention and reduction of ambiguity. High ambiguity tolerance (AT) emphasizes exploration, while low AT emphasizes exploitation. The findings contribute to a more detailed theoretical understanding of the contextual ambidexterity concept and can help practitioners to achieve contextual ambidexterity in their innovation projects.

Keywords: Ambidexterity; ambiguity tolerance; innovation; new product development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0219877016500139
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:ijitmx:v:13:y:2016:i:04:n:s0219877016500139

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S0219877016500139

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM) is currently edited by H K Tang

More articles in International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().