The Ambidextrous Organization: Management Paradox Today

There is a growing interest in ‘ambidextrous’ organizations that can achieve harmony between the opposing demands they face internally and externally (such as exploration and exploitation; change and stability; customization and standardization; the development of new competencies and further refinement of existing ones). This interest is being fuelled by a wider debate and interest in learning and knowledge as engines of organizational growth and sustainable competitive advantage.

Numerous books on organizational learning and knowledge management have appeared in recent years. However, none combines strategy, learning, knowledge, and innovation into a single coherent framework of ambidexterity. This book explores insights from the extensive body of research that has been conducted over the last few years into the issues of exploratory versus exploitative learning, and how to manage the two within the context of an ambidextrous organization. It goes beyond the usual focus on intangible concepts and ideas relating to learning and knowledge, and identifies actionable responses to contextual challenges, and how to develop an ambidextrous firm.

Accessible and practical, this significant text explains key principles, with emphasis on developing students’ understanding of organizational learning, knowledge, innovation, and ambidexterity, and combines them with real-life company examples to illustrate the practical application, utility, and limitations of concepts and theories. For students of strategic management, organizational behaviour and knowledge management this is essential reading.