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Managing Organizational Learning Ambidexterity in a Resource-constrained Environment: An exploratory study of Australian Large Service Organizations

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.  ISPIM Innovation Symposium; Manchester : The International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM). (Jun 2017): 1-14.

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Abstract: Organizational learning can facilitate innovation and it is influenced by external and internal contexts. This paper applies Crossan et al.'s (1999) 4I framework examining the effects of external and internal forces on an organization's learning process and the extent of its innovation. Leaders can provide the internal contextual support for learning to happen in response to the dynamic changes in the external contexts. Leaders should pursue both exploitation and exploration in their organizational learning in order to compete and survive in a resource-constrained environment. This study seeks to explore how organizations should dynamically pursue cost-leadership (exploitation) and differentiation (exploration) strategies. Multiple-case studies of four Australian large service organizations are used to gain insights about how organizations actually do to achieve ambidexterity. The study demonstrates that leaders tend to focus on cost leadership and efficiency than on differentiation in a resource-constrained environment.

Keywords: Innovation; organizational learning; ambidexterity; service; resource.

1Introduction

The nature of the service industry, with its intense customer participation in service coproduction, requires organizations to continuously explore new approaches to provide better service to their customers (Che-Ha et al., 2014). In Australia, the service sector significantly contributes to the national economies. Australia has exported almost $63 billion worth of services in 2014-15 and this accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the country?s total exports (Thirlwell, 2015). The large organizations tend to exploit their existing knowledge due to the complexity of their structures and bureaucracies (Vaccaro et al., 2012, Eisenhardt et al., 2010). However, while large organizations, including those in the service industry, are more likely to engage in innovation activities, some find it difficult to pursue exploration (Hashi and Stojcic, 2013).

In Australia, the large service organizations have been operating in a resourceconstrained environment due to the restrained economic growth. Australia has been facing slow economic growth since...