Digital Transformation and Ambidextrous Innovation for Sustainable Growth: Evidence from Listed Tourism Firms in China

Suze Chen, Yitong Ou, Siyi Pu and Ou Bai ()
Additional contact information
Suze Chen: School of Landscape Architecture and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Linan, Hangzhou 311300, China
Yitong Ou: School of Management, Zhejiang University, Xihu, Hangzhou 310012, China
Siyi Pu: School of Landscape Architecture and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Linan, Hangzhou 311300, China
Ou Bai: School of Landscape Architecture and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Linan, Hangzhou 311300, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-23

Abstract: This study investigates how digital transformation (DT) shapes ambidextrous innovation patterns (simultaneous vs. sequential) in tourism firms. It distinguishes between simultaneous and sequential innovation patterns and examines the mediating role of strategic flexibility in these relationships. Using econometric modeling, we analyze 11-year panel data (2012–2022) from 72 Chinese listed tourism enterprises. The study finds that DT positively influences both simultaneous and sequential innovation patterns. Furthermore, strategic flexibility plays a stronger mediating role in the simultaneous innovation pattern than in the sequential one. The research contributes to the DT literature by shedding light on how tourism firms can manage the challenges associated with ambidextrous innovation patterns to enhance long-term competitiveness and sustainable development. It also enriches the ambidextrous innovation literature by providing a holistic model that captures the dynamics of both patterns, offering valuable insights for tourism firms to better balance resource allocation and integrated utilization in pursuit of sustainable innovation outcomes.

Keywords: ambidextrous innovation patterns; digital transformation; simultaneous pattern; sequential pattern; strategic flexibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5923/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5923/ (text/html)

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:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5923-:d:1688959

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().