Ambidextrous Organizations

March, J.G. (1991) - “Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning,” Organization Science, 2(1)

Organizational ambidexterity is the ability to simultaneously pursue exploitation (efficiency, incremental improvement) and exploration (experimentation, radical innovation). Duncan (1976) coined the term; March (1991) showed adaptive processes favor exploitation, creating a competency trap. Structural ambidexterity separates the two units at senior leadership level. Contextual ambidexterity (Gibson & Birkinshaw, 2004) enables individuals to balance both within a single unit. O’Reilly & Tushman (2004) found over 90% of structural ambidextrous organizations succeeded at breakthrough innovation.