Balancing Innovation and Operation in Organizations:A Multiple Case Study on Ambidexterity

Abstract: Background: Since quick change is one of the most distinguishing qualities of today's market, organizations must be able to cope with it and match markets by keeping up with new market trends and wants, as well as adapting to changes in market features. This can be achieved by pursuing both exploration and exploitation to ensure success in the short and long term. Since this is the case, it is vital that companies find the right balance between operation and innovation to be able to exploit present opportunities and explore future directions. Purpose: This research aims to study the role of ambidexterity in achieving the desired balance in different industries. Every organization is unique, and companies differ from each other in many ways such as; work system, organizational structure, work philosophy and size. This study discussed the issue of balancing innovation and operation, to evaluate the process of choosing the right ambidextrous approach to be followed by different organizations across different industries. Method: Multiple case study was used. Data collected had both primary and secondary sources where the primary sources were collected through semi-structured interviews and the secondary sources were archives and reports. Grounded analysis was used in the analysis process to conclude the theory. Conclusion: The research results showed that when organizations achieve ambidexterity by following one of the ambidexterity approaches, the choice of the right approach depends on certain factors on different levels that need to be considered, and the four tensions of ambidexterity differ from one approach to another. Hence, the tensions should be verified and handled in relevance to the followed ambidexterity approach.