Organizational ambidexterity: two modes of learning

That organizationsmust be ambidextrouswas first suggested by Duncan (1976), who proposed acontingency model of organizational structure according to which innovation required a differentstructure characterized by higher complexity, less formalization, and less centralization than inthe exploitation, or in Duncan’s terms, the implementation stage. But it was March’s seminal(1991) article “Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning” – in a special issue ofOrganization Science on organizational learning (OL), guest-edited by Michael Cohen – thatopened the field of balancing exploration-exploitation (ambidexterity) in establishedorganizations. In so doing, this article firmly established learning as a key element of explorationand exploitation, but in recent research learning in exploration-exploitation has beenunderstudied. This special issue of The Learning Organization, “Organizational ambidexterity:two modes of learning,” contains articles that develop our understanding of the link between OLand organizational ambidexterity (OA), for example, similarities and differences between them, orhow OL can help achieve and sustain ambidexterity over time. Gibson and Birkinshaw (2004)note that OA has increasingly been used to mean an organization’s ability to do two differentthings at the same time.Huber (1991, p. 89) defines learning by stating, “An entity learns if, through its processing ofinformation, the range of its potential behaviors is changed.” His definition of learning appearedin the same special issue of Organization Science as March’s (1991) article and helped us separatelearning from habitual behavior embedded in organizational competencies and routines. We arepleased to add to the literature of OL and OA these fine papers in our special issue with the hopeof facilitating the development of knowledge on how to achieve ambidexterity through OL. Weelaborate the contribution of these articles in the following discussion of three important themesthat connect OA and OL in this special issue: categorizing ambidexterity, learning forambidexterity, and an integrative approach to ambidexterity.

Til publikasjon: https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-05-2019-233, https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4352774 | Publiseringsår: 2019 | Tidsskrift: Learning Organization