Title: Comprehending ambidexterity in the emerging-market context: the moderating role of learning capability and environmental dynamism on e-commerce firms' performance

Authors: Sanjay Dhir; Viput Ongsakul; Ishita Batra

Addresses: Strategic Management, Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, HauzKhas, New Delhi – 110016, India ' NIDA Business School, Bang Kapi, Bangkok – 10240, Thailand ' Strategic Management, Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, HauzKhas, New Delhi – 110016, India

Abstract: The popularity of the ambidexterity construct has grown in recent years but remains ill-defined owing to the lack of supporting theoretical research. This study aims to comprehend the ambidexterity construct in the context of an emerging market. The two dimensions of ambidexterity - combined ambidexterity and balanced ambidexterity - are studied. The balanced dimension corresponds to an organisation's efforts in maintaining a balance between exploitative and exploratory activities, while the combined dimension corresponds to the combined strength of both these activities. We empirically analyse both dimensions in an Indian e-commerce scenario regarding their relationship with firm performance and also examine the moderating effect of learning capability and environmental dynamism. We reason that a firms' learning capability impacts both dimensions and firms should focus on both external and internal knowledge to benefit from ambidexterity efforts. We also provide implications for scholars and practitioners and suggest some likely research avenues.

Keywords: ambidexterity; India; e-commerce; learning capability; environmental dynamism.

DOI: 10.1504/JGBA.2018.097197

Journal for Global Business Advancement, 2018 Vol.11 No.4, pp.395 - 417

Received: 04 Oct 2018
Accepted: 16 Oct 2018
Published online: 02 Jan 2019 *

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