Abstract

Leveraging a hybrid research approach between quantitative and qualitative methods, the present research project intended to investigate 1)in the Chinese cellphone market, the difference in level of organizational ambidexterity exhibited by East Asian and Non-East Asian manufacturers, and 2)whether there exists a positive correlation between cellphone manufacturers’ market performance and organizational ambidexterity. This study drew from He & Wong’s (2004) framework of a dual-dimensioned organizational ambidexterity which includes the Balance Dimension (BD) that describes a balanced effort in organizational exploitation and exploration, and the Combined Dimension (CD) that describes the totality of effort devoted to exploitation and exploration activities. The present study proposes a positive correlation in the Chinese cellphone market between a cellphone manufacturer’s sales growth rate and 1a)BD, 1b)CD, and the simultaneous pursuit of 1c)BD & CD. The study also proposes that East Asian firms would exhibit a higher level of organizational ambidexterity in both 2a)BD and 2b)CD based on my discussion of cultural and institutional factors. The analytical results indicated that East Asian cellphone firms indeed demonstrated a higher level of organizational ambidexterity across both dimensions compared to their Non-East Asian counterparts. Mixed findings were obtained concerning organizational ambidexterity’s impact on organizational performance. The results partially supported that BD ambidexterity has a positive correlation with organizational performance. Contrary to expectations, the findings revealed a negative effect of CD ambidexterity on organizational performance. In addition, no significant relationship was detected between the simultaneous pursuit of BD & CD ambidexterity and organizational performance. Overall, the results support Raisch & Birkinshaw’s (2008) findings that the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and organizational performance is complex. The present study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence to the presence of a complex relationship between organizational ambidexterity and performance using the BD & CD framework. Discussion of the findings also offers insights into business practices in the consumer electronics industry.

Keywords: organizational ambidexterity, exploration, exploitation, innovation, cellphone, mobile phone, Chinese market, East Asian