Managing ambidexterity tensions in transferring innovation projects to mainstream units

Lethícia Mallet and Mario Sergio Salerno

European Journal of Innovation Management, 2025, vol. 28, issue 9, 4674-4704

Abstract: PurposeIn a high-tech environment with unsatisfactory innovation results, this research investigates how strategic innovations can be more effectively transferred into the core business, considering the integration challenges within an ambidexterity context.Design/methodology/approachResearch was conducted in a major Brazilian public biopharmaceutical laboratory using mixed methods: a process-oriented methodology accounting for the significance of project stages and timeline and a grounded theory approach for inductive analysis of discourses during the project transfer to the core business.FindingsThe primary outcome is a conceptual model focused on the innovation transfer process and its redefinition throughout new product development phases. The results demonstrate the organizational and project-level integration practices that enabled the flow of innovation projects into mainstream operations. Mechanisms facilitating access to crucial resources significantly promoted the integration and the transfer.Research limitations/implicationsThe company faces the challenges and constraints of the public sector. Including diverse contexts would enhance the results.Practical implicationsThe study indicates that stimulating an ambidextrous orientation and leveraging the flexibility of resource exchange processes can significantly promote innovation transfer.Originality/valueThe research shows how a process view affects the transfer of innovations to regular operations, offering a novel approach to managing innovation projects in ambidextrous organizations. It revisits the concept of innovation transfer as an ongoing process rather than a singular event at the end of an innovation project. Finally, the results highlight resource exchange mechanisms essential to balancing exploration and exploitation.

Keywords: Integration; Innovation transfer; Process-based studies; Resource exchanging; Ambidexterity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ejimpp:ejim-06-2024-0673

DOI: 10.1108/EJIM-06-2024-0673

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