Abstract
This dissertation contributes to the area of organizational ambidexterity by examining new antecedents and expanding the concept beyond its traditional realm of balancing exploitation and exploration, in three essays. Adopting a broader view of ambidexterity as the ability to perform contradictory strategic acts simultaneously, Essay 1 and Essay 3 introduce two new ambidextrous strategies respectively – institutional ambidexterity, which is a strategy to manage institutional compliance and influence at the same time, and co-competence, which is a strategy to develop both transactional competence and relational competence. In Essay 2, the dissertation also examines a construct within the traditional realm – structural ambidexterity. Moving away from traditional inquiries of performance implications and echoing recent research on antecedents, the dissertation introduces three new drivers of organizational ambidexterity. Essay 1 examines the role of formal and informal national institutions in achieving institutional ambidexterity, as well as the subsequent link to firm performance. Essay 2 considers the role of managerial beliefs and presents a mediation model, where the relationship between ambivalent management philosophy and structural ambidexterity is mediated through organizational innovation, outcome-based managerial governance, and analyzer orientation. Essay 3 recognizes the importance of entrepreneurial orientation and offers another mediation model, where the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and co-competence is mediated through absorptive capacity and external networks. In addition to the broader contribution to research on organizational ambidexterity, this dissertation also has implications for institutional theory, entrepreneurial orientation in small and medium enterprises, strategy in emerging markets, and the emerging theme “West meets East”