Organizational ambidexterity and firm performance: Burning research questions for marketing scholars

Organizational ambidexterity is an important topic in management research having grown meteorically over the past 17 years. Yet, very few studies in marketing examine organizational ambidexterity. Where studies do exist, seldom do they do justice to its theoretical richness and complexity. This complexity is a significant hurdle for scholars and managers alike, but theory and practice on organizational ambidexterity can benefit substantively from the input of scholars outside the realm of management. This paper provides scholars and managers with a detailed analyses, documentary and corpus of reference material documenting the development, definition, theoretical assumptions and conceptual treatment, measurement and empirical findings to do with organizational ambidexterity. Drawing on this detailed analysis, the paper identifies the burning research questions marketing scholars should give urgent attention to advance theory and practice on organizational ambidexterity. Summary statement of contribution: This paper provides readers with detailed analyses and documentary of the development, definition, theoretical and conceptual treatment, measurement and empirical findings to do with organizational ambidexterity. It identifies the fundamental elements and key assumptions of organizational ambidexterity and reveals implications of conflicts among these elements and assumptions. The paper identifies the burning research questions in need of urgent attention to advance theory and practice.