Organizational Ambidexterity: Past, Present and Future

33 Pages Posted: 28 Jun 2013 Last revised: 13 Nov 2013

See all articles by Charles A. O'Reilly

Charles A. O'Reilly

Stanford University - Graduate School of Business

Michael Tushman

Harvard University - Organizational Behavior Unit

Date Written: June 26, 2013

Abstract

Organizational ambidexterity refers to the ability of an organization to both explore and exploit — to compete in mature technologies and markets where efficiency, control, and incremental improvement are prized and to also compete in new technologies and markets where flexibility, autonomy, and experimentation are needed. In the past 15 years there has been an explosion of interest and research on this topic. We briefly review the current state of the research, highlighting what we know and don’t know about the topic. We close with a point of view on promising areas for ongoing research.

Suggested Citation

O'Reilly, Charles A. and Tushman, Michael, Organizational Ambidexterity: Past, Present and Future (June 26, 2013). Academy of Management Perspectives, Forthcoming, Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University Working Paper No. 142, Stanford University Graduate School of Business Research Paper No. 2130; Stanford University Graduate School of Business Research Paper No. 13-1, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2285704 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2285704

Charles A. O'Reilly (Contact Author)

Stanford University - Graduate School of Business ( email )

655 Knight Way
Stanford, CA 94305-5015
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Michael Tushman

Harvard University - Organizational Behavior Unit ( email )

Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
United States

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