IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v30y2021i1s0969593120301153.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unpacking the impact of innovation ambidexterity on export performance: Microfoundations and infrastructure investment

Author

Listed:
  • Yan, Ji
  • Tsinopoulos, Christos
  • Xiong, Yu

Abstract

When designing and managing routines for their innovation activities firms often face a challenge. Either they can concentrate their efforts on one approach i.e. exploring new ideas or exploiting its existing capabilities, or they can try to do both, i.e. becoming ambidextrous. In this paper, we aim to explore first the effect of exploration, exploitation and ambidexterity on export performance and second the moderating role of investment in infrastructure. Using firm-level data from the UK’s innovation survey (CIS) we find that both exploration and exploitation improve export performance. We also find that investment in infrastructure weakens this relationship. Counterintuitively, we find that ambidexterity has a negative effect on export performance, and that it is negatively moderated by investment in infrastructure. We use microfoundations arguments (the routines firms employ and the actions taken by individuals and groups within them to shape their exporting capabilities) to explain how efforts to achieve ambidexterity can improve export performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan, Ji & Tsinopoulos, Christos & Xiong, Yu, 2021. "Unpacking the impact of innovation ambidexterity on export performance: Microfoundations and infrastructure investment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:30:y:2021:i:1:s0969593120301153
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101766
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593120301153
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101766?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Teppo Felin & Nicolai J. Foss & Koen H. Heimeriks & Tammy L. Madsen, 2012. "Microfoundations of Routines and Capabilities: Individuals, Processes, and Structure," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(8), pages 1351-1374, December.
    2. Gnizy, Itzhak & Cadogan, John W. & Oliveira, João S. & Nizam, Asmat, 2017. "The empirical link between export dispersion and export performance: A contingency-based approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 239-249.
    3. Fang, Yulin & Wade, Michael & Delios, Andrew & Beamish, Paul W., 2013. "An exploration of multinational enterprise knowledge resources and foreign subsidiary performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 30-38.
    4. Christoph Grimpe & Ulrich Kaiser, 2010. "Balancing Internal and External Knowledge Acquisition: The Gains and Pains from R&D Outsourcing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(8), pages 1483-1509, December.
    5. Castellani, Davide & Fassio, Claudio, 2019. "From new imported inputs to new exported products. Firm-level evidence from Sweden," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 322-338.
    6. Love, James H. & Ganotakis, Panagiotis, 2013. "Learning by exporting: Lessons from high-technology SMEs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 1-17.
    7. Azar, Goudarz & Ciabuschi, Francesco, 2017. "Organizational innovation, technological innovation, and export performance: The effects of innovation radicalness and extensiveness," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 324-336.
    8. Ruey-Jer (Bryan) Jean & Rudolf R Sinkovics & S Tamer Cavusgil, 2010. "Enhancing international customer–supplier relationships through IT resources: A study of Taiwanese electronics suppliers," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(7), pages 1218-1239, September.
    9. Hau L. Lee, 2010. "Global Trade Process and Supply Chain Management," International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, in: ManMohan S. Sodhi & Christopher S. Tang (ed.), A Long View of Research and Practice in Operations Research and Management Science, chapter 0, pages 175-193, Springer.
    10. William Ocasio, 2011. "Attention to Attention," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1286-1296, October.
    11. Ming Piao & Edward J. Zajac, 2016. "How exploitation impedes and impels exploration: Theory and evidence," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1431-1447, July.
    12. S Tamer Cavusgil & Shaoming Zou & G M Naidu, 1993. "Product and Promoting Adaptation in Export Ventures: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 24(3), pages 479-506, September.
    13. Shad Morris & Ryan Hammond & Scott Snell, 2014. "A microfoundations approach to transnational capabilities: The role of knowledge search in an ever-changing world," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 45(4), pages 405-427, May.
    14. Douglas Dow, 2006. "Adaptation and performance in foreign markets: evidence of systematic under-adaptation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(2), pages 212-226, March.
    15. G R G Benito & B Grøgaard & R Narula, 2003. "Environmental influences on MNE subsidiary roles: economic integration and the Nordic countries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 34(5), pages 443-456, September.
    16. David L Levy, 1995. "International Sourcing and Supply Chain Stability," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(2), pages 343-360, June.
    17. Igor Filatotchev & Xiaohui Liu & Trevor Buck & Mike Wright, 2009. "The export orientation and export performance of high-technology SMEs in emerging markets: The effects of knowledge transfer by returnee entrepreneurs," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(6), pages 1005-1021, August.
    18. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Fotiadis, Thomas A. & Christodoulides, Paul & Spyropoulou, Stavroula & Katsikeas, Constantine S., 2015. "Environmentally friendly export business strategy: Its determinants and effects on competitive advantage and performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 798-811.
    19. Stoian, Maria-Cristina & Rialp, Alex & Rialp, Josep, 2011. "Export performance under the microscope: A glance through Spanish lenses," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 117-135, April.
    20. Theodosiou, Marios & Leonidou, Leonidas C., 2003. "Standardization versus adaptation of international marketing strategy: an integrative assessment of the empirical research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 141-171, April.
    21. Qing Cao & Eric Gedajlovic & Hongping Zhang, 2009. "Unpacking Organizational Ambidexterity: Dimensions, Contingencies, and Synergistic Effects," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 781-796, August.
    22. Juha Uotila & Markku Maula & Thomas Keil & Shaker A. Zahra, 2009. "Exploration, exploitation, and financial performance: analysis of S&P 500 corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 221-231, February.
    23. Olivier Bertrand, 2011. "What goes around, comes around: Effects of offshore outsourcing on the export performance of firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 42(2), pages 334-344, February.
    24. Liu, Yipeng & Huang, Qihai, 2018. "University capability as a micro-foundation for the Triple Helix model: The case of China," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 76, pages 40-50.
    25. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    26. S. Tamer Cavusgil, 1984. "Organizational Characteristics Associated With Export Activity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 3-22, January.
    27. Robertson, Christopher & Chetty, Sylvie K., 2000. "A contingency-based approach to understanding export performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 211-235, April.
    28. Marco Tortoriello, 2015. "The social underpinnings of absorptive capacity: The moderating effects of structural holes on innovation generation based on external knowledge," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 586-597, April.
    29. Carliss Baldwin & Eric von Hippel, 2011. "Modeling a Paradigm Shift: From Producer Innovation to User and Open Collaborative Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(6), pages 1399-1417, December.
    30. Mike W. Peng & Charles W. L. Hill & Denis Y. L. Wang, 2000. "Schumpeterian Dynamics Versus Williamsonian Considerations: A Test of Export Intermediary Performance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 167-184, March.
    31. Dana Minbaeva & Torben Pedersen & Ingmar Björkman & Carl F Fey & Hyeon Jeong Park, 2014. "MNC knowledge transfer, subsidiary absorptive capacity and HRM," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 45(1), pages 38-51, January.
    32. Justin J. P. Jansen & Michiel P. Tempelaar & Frans A. J. van den Bosch & Henk W. Volberda, 2009. "Structural Differentiation and Ambidexterity: The Mediating Role of Integration Mechanisms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 797-811, August.
    33. Robert M. Salomon & J. Myles Shaver, 2005. "Learning by Exporting: New Insights from Examining Firm Innovation," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 431-460, June.
    34. Daniel Lederman, 2010. "An international multilevel analysis of product innovation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(4), pages 606-619, May.
    35. Kiyohiko Ito & Vladimir Pucik, 1993. "Abstract," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 61-75, January.
    36. William Ocasio, 1997. "Towards An Attention‐Based View Of The Firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(S1), pages 187-206, July.
    37. Vega-Jurado, Jaider & Gutiérrez-Gracia, Antonio & Fernández-de-Lucio, Ignacio & Manjarrés-Henri­quez, Liney, 2008. "The effect of external and internal factors on firms' product innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 616-632, May.
    38. Schmid, Stefan & Kotulla, Thomas, 2011. "50 years of research on international standardization and adaptation--From a systematic literature analysis to a theoretical framework," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 491-507, October.
    39. Tim Swift, 2016. "The perilous leap between exploration and exploitation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(8), pages 1688-1698, August.
    40. Cieślik, Jerzy & Kaciak, Eugene & Thongpapanl, Narongsak (Tek), 2015. "Effect of export experience and market scope strategy on export performance: Evidence from Poland," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 772-780.
    41. Dana B Minbaeva & Torben Pedersen & Ingmar Björkman & Carl F Fey, 2014. "A retrospective on: MNC knowledge transfer, subsidiary absorptive capacity, and HRM," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 45(1), pages 52-62, January.
    42. Christoph Grimpe & Ulrich Kaiser, 2010. "Balancing Internal and External Knowledge Acquisition: The Gains and Pains from R&D Outsourcing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(8), pages 1483-1509, December.
    43. Tianjiao Xia & Xiaohui Liu, 2017. "Foreign competition, domestic competition and innovation in Chinese private high-tech new ventures," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(6), pages 716-739, August.
    44. Roper, Stephen & Love, James H., 2002. "Innovation and export performance: evidence from the UK and German manufacturing plants," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1087-1102, September.
    45. Aija Leiponen & Constance E. Helfat, 2010. "Innovation objectives, knowledge sources, and the benefits of breadth," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 224-236, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tukiran, Martinus & Sunaryo, Widodo & Ghufron, Nurul & Rusli, Zil Irvan & Dalilah, Elih, 2022. "Public sector management: indispensable facilitating factors in sculpting organizational ambidexterity," MPRA Paper 113982, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 21 Mar 2022.
    2. Wu, Lichao & Wei, Yingqi & Wang, Chengang & McDonald, Frank & Han, Xia, 2022. "The importance of institutional and financial resources for export performance associated with technological innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andreea N. Kiss & Dirk Libaers & Pamela S. Barr & Tang Wang & Miles A. Zachary, 2020. "CEO cognitive flexibility, information search, and organizational ambidexterity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(12), pages 2200-2233, December.
    2. Jiang, Marshall S. & Branzei, Oana & Xia, Jun, 2016. "DIY: How internationalization shifts the locus of indigenous innovation for Chinese firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(5), pages 662-674.
    3. Gkypali, Areti & Arvanitis, Spyros & Tsekouras, Kostas, 2018. "Absorptive capacity, exporting activities, innovation openness and innovation performance: A SEM approach towards a unifying framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 143-155.
    4. Carolina Rojas-Córdova & Amanda J. Williamson & Julio A. Pertuze & Gustavo Calvo, 2023. "Why one strategy does not fit all: a systematic review on exploration–exploitation in different organizational archetypes," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(7), pages 2251-2295, October.
    5. Idris, Bochra & Saridakis, George & Khan, Zaheer, 2022. "The Effect of Outward and Inward Internationalisation on Different Types of Innovation: Evidence from UK SMEs," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(2).
    6. Mavroudi, Eva & Kesidou, Effie & Pandza, Krsto, 2023. "Effects of ambidextrous and specialized R&D strategies on firm performance: The contingent role of industry orientation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    7. Lee, In Hyeock & Lévesque, Moren, 2023. "Do resource-constrained early-stage firms balance their internal resources across business activities? If so, should they?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    8. Ang, Siah Hwee & Benischke, Mirko H. & Hooi, Andrea Wai-Leng, 2018. "Frequency of international expansion through high control market expansion modes and interlocked directorships," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 493-503.
    9. Schäper, Thomas & Jung, Christopher & Foege, Johann Nils & Bogers, Marcel L.A.M. & Fainshmidt, Stav & Nüesch, Stephan, 2023. "The S-shaped relationship between open innovation and financial performance: A longitudinal perspective using a novel text-based measure," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    10. Suqin Shen & Sunil Venaik & Yunxia Zhu, 2023. "A Dynamic Model of Internationalization and Innovation in Emerging Market Enterprises: Knowledge Exploration, Transformation, and Exploitation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 561-601, August.
    11. Ravi Srinivasan & Adrian Choo & Sriram Narayanan & Soumodip Sarkar & Antti Tenhiälä, 2021. "Knowledge sources, innovation objectives, and their impact on innovation performance: Quasi‐replication of Leiponen and Helfat (2010)," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(11), pages 2104-2136, November.
    12. Mavroudi, Eva & Kesidou, Effie & Pandza, Krsto, 2020. "Shifting back and forth: How does the temporal cycling between exploratory and exploitative R&D influence firm performance?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 386-396.
    13. Xia Jun & Marshall S. Jiang & Sali Li & Preet S. Aulakh, 2014. "Practice Standardization in Cross-Border Activities of Multinational Corporations: A Resource Dependence Perspective," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 54(5), pages 707-734, October.
    14. Chang, Kuo-Hsiung & Gotcher, Donald F., 2020. "How and when does co-production facilitate eco-innovation in international buyer-supplier relationships? The role of environmental innovation ambidexterity and institutional pressures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    15. Manuel Guisado-González & Jennifer González-Blanco & José Luis Coca-Pérez, 2019. "Exploration, exploitation, and firm age in alliance portfolios," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(4), pages 387-406, December.
    16. Ardito, Lorenzo & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio, 2017. "Breadth of external knowledge sourcing and product innovation: The moderating role of strategic human resource practices," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 261-272.
    17. Bernd Ebersberger & Nils Mevenkamp, 2016. "Open Innovation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia," Journal of Business Administration Research, Journal of Business Administration Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 5(2), pages 8-19, October.
    18. Rui Guo & Lutao Ning & Kaihua Chen, 2022. "How do human capital and R&D structure facilitate FDI knowledge spillovers to local firm innovation? a panel threshold approach," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 1921-1947, December.
    19. Al-Atwi, Amer Ali & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Khan, Zaheer, 2021. "Micro-foundations of organizational design and sustainability: The mediating role of learning ambidexterity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    20. Anu Wadhwa & Isabel Maria Bodas Freitas & M. B. Sarkar, 2017. "The Paradox of Openness and Value Protection Strategies: Effect of Extramural R&D on Innovative Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(5), pages 873-896, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:30:y:2021:i:1:s0969593120301153. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.