From Innovation to Absorption: How Organizational Culture Drives Ambidextrous Capabilities

Abstract

This conceptual study aims to anticipate the relationship between ambidextrous innovation capabilities and ambidextrous organizational culture in enhancing absorptive capacity within organizations. The study proposes employing a quantitative approach, utilizing a cross-sectional survey design and structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the hypothesized relationships among ambidextrous innovation capabilities, ambidextrous organizational culture, and absorptive capacity. The study anticipates that an organizational culture supporting both exploration and exploitation—referred to as ambidextrous organizational culture—will be instrumental in enhancing absorptive capacity. Such a culture enables organizations to capitalize on existing knowledge while concurrently exploring new knowledge domains, thereby improving their ability to recognize, assimilate, and apply external knowledge. Additionally, ambidextrous innovation capabilities, which encompass both exploratory and exploitative innovations, are expected to significantly bolster absorptive capacity. Organizations that effectively balance the pursuit of novel ideas with the optimization of existing competencies are anticipated to be more adept at acquiring, assimilating, and utilizing external knowledge. This study is expected to provide valuable theoretical and practical insights aimed at assisting organizations in enhancing their absorptive capacity and sustaining competitiveness in dynamic markets.