A Longitudinal Perspective on Organizational Ambidexterity

This research plan focuses on organizational ambidexterity, that is a firm's ability to
exploit its current capabilities while simultaneously exploring fundamentally new
competencies. While ambidexterity is one of the most prevalent themes in organization science, previous studies have almost exclusively focused on cross-sectional research designs, mostly neglecting time in their conceptualization. No matter if it is about the antecedents, balancing modes, or outcomes of ambidexterity, time, however, takes a central role in understanding the phenomenon of balancing exploration and exploitation. Therefore, this research plan takes a longitudinal perspective on organizational ambidexterity and proposes two research studies. In the first study, for example, it introduces a new ambidexterity concept - dynamic ambidexterity - which is defined as a firm's ability to simultaneously balance exploration and exploitation and to adapt this balance over time. The second study questions how acquisition programs may enable firms to achieve ambidexterity over time and thereby introduces three balancing modes: Temporal-, Structural-, and Contextual Acquisition Ambidexterity.
From a methodological perspective, a quantitative longitudinal panel-data research
design will be chosen for both proposed research projects.