IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/jecxxx/v15y2007i01ns0218495807000046.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Achieving Superior Internationalization Through Strategic Ambidexterity

Author

Listed:
  • MARY HAN

    (Ryerson University, School of Business Management, Canada)

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the optimal approach to internationalization. Drawing from the ambidexterity literature, I build on the concept of structural ambidexterity and suggest that the optimal approach occurs when firms pursue 'strategic ambidexterity,' which is characterized by simultaneously executing paradoxical strategies of pro-profit and pro-growth. I examine this approach through empirical study based on in-depth field research of two cases: Merrill Lynch, a multinational enterprise and Comdirect Bank, an international new venture. I find that a) firms that pursue strategic ambidexterity in their internationalization effort achieve above-average internationalization performance in the short term; and b) firms that pursue strategic ambidexterity in their internationalization effort also achieve above-average firm-level performance in the long term. I conclude that strategic ambidexterity is the optimal strategy by which to achieve superior performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary Han, 2007. "Achieving Superior Internationalization Through Strategic Ambidexterity," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 43-77.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:jecxxx:v:15:y:2007:i:01:n:s0218495807000046
    DOI: 10.1142/S0218495807000046
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0218495807000046
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1142/S0218495807000046?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. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 1991. "The Future of the Multinational Enterprise," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-1-349-21204-0.
    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. David B. Audretsch & Maribel Guerrero, 2023. "Is ambidexterity the missing link between entrepreneurship, management, and innovation?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 1891-1918, December.
    2. Riviezzo, Angelo & Garofano, Antonella & Napolitano, Maria Rosaria & Marino, Vittoria, 2015. "Moving forward or running to standstill? Exploring the nature and the role of family firms’ strategic orientation," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 190-205.
    3. Hsu, Chia-Wen & Lien, Yung-Chih & Chen, Homin, 2013. "International ambidexterity and firm performance in small emerging economies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 58-67.
    4. Gordian Rättich & Kim Clark & Evi Hartmann, 2011. "Performance measurement and antecedents of early internationalizing firms: A systematic assessment," Working Papers 0031, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    5. Bruyaka, Olga & Prange, Christiane, 2020. "International cultural ambidexterity: Balancing tensions of foreign market entry into distant and proximate cultures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 491-506.
    6. Olga Kassotaki, 2022. "Review of Organizational Ambidexterity Research," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    7. Vahlne, Jan-Erik & Jonsson, Anna, 2017. "Ambidexterity as a dynamic capability in the globalization of the multinational business enterprise (MBE): Case studies of AB Volvo and IKEA," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 57-70.
    8. Ramya T. Venkateswaran, 2023. "Is there an illusion of symmetry in cultural distance from Asia–pacific Emnes? the role of business groups in navigating cultural distance through ambidextrous learning," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 1169-1215, September.
    9. Christofi, Michael & Vrontis, Demetris & Cadogan, John W., 2021. "Micro-foundational ambidexterity and multinational enterprises: A systematic review and a conceptual framework," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).

    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. Iamsiraroj, Sasi, 2016. "The foreign direct investment–economic growth nexus," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 116-133.
    2. Asmund Rygh & Gabriel R. G. Benito, 2018. "Capital Structure of Foreign Direct Investments: A Transaction Cost Analysis," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 389-411, June.
    3. Fumihiko Isada, 2021. "Changes in the International Network of Japanese Electronics Manufacturers," International Journal of Business and Management, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences, vol. 9(1), pages 47-62, May.
    4. Arora, Ashish & Fosfuri, Andrea, 1999. "Exploring the internalization rationale for international investment: wholly owned subsidiary versus technology licensing in the worldwide chemical industry," DEE - Working Papers. Business Economics. WB 6430, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía de la Empresa.
    5. Blomström, Magnus & Kokko, Ari, 2003. "Human Capital and Inward FDI," CEPR Discussion Papers 3762, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Andersson, Ulf & Dasí, Àngels & Mudambi, Ram & Pedersen, Torben, 2016. "Technology, innovation and knowledge: The importance of ideas and international connectivity," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 153-162.
    7. Tatiana M. C. Monteiro & Maria do Rosário A. Moreira & Paulo S. A. Sousa, 2013. "Relationship between Firm Size and Export Performance: An Exploratory Analysis," Economics and Management Research Projects: An International Journal, Open Access International Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 9-23, December.
    8. Bürgel, Oliver & Fier, Andreas & Licht, Georg & Murray, Gordon & Nerlinger, Eric A., 1998. "The internationalisation of British and German start-up companies in high-technology industries," ZEW Discussion Papers 98-34, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    9. Birgitte Grøgaard & Asmund Rygh & Gabriel R. G. Benito, 2019. "Bringing corporate governance into internalization theory: State ownership and foreign entry strategies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1310-1337, October.
    10. Kalpana Tokas & Kartik Yadav, 2023. "Foreign Ownership and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Case of an Emerging Market," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 24(6), pages 1302-1325, December.
    11. Teixeira, Aurora A.C. & Tavares-Lehmann, Ana Teresa, 2014. "Human capital intensity in technology-based firms located in Portugal: Does foreign ownership matter?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 737-748.
    12. Anthony Goerzen & Stephen Sapp & Andrew Delios, 2010. "Investor Response to Environmental Risk in Foreign Direct Investment," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 683-708, December.
    13. Munjal, Surender & Requejo, Ignacio & Kundu, Sumit K., 2019. "Offshore outsourcing and firm performance: Moderating effects of size, growth and slack resources," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 484-494.
    14. Simona Iammarino & Francesca Sanna-Randaccio & Maria Savona, 2007. "The perception of obstacles to innovation. Multinational and domestic firms in Italy," Working Papers of BETA 2007-12, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    15. Mutinelli, Marco & Piscitello, Lucia, 1998. "The entry mode choice of MNEs: an evolutionary approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 491-506, September.
    16. Hao Liang & Bing Ren & Haikun Zhu, 2011. "Revisiting the OLI Paradigm: The Institutions, the State, and China's OFDI," CESifo Working Paper Series 3642, CESifo.
    17. Greene, William H. & Hornstein, Abigail S. & White, Lawrence J., 2009. "Multinationals do it better: Evidence on the efficiency of corporations' capital budgeting," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 703-720, December.
    18. Mudambi, Ram & Paul, Chris, 2003. "Domestic drug prohibition as a source of foreign institutional instability: an analysis of the multinational extralegal enterprise," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 335-349.
    19. Timothy Fisher & Malik Ranasinghe, 2001. "Culture and foreign companies' choice of entry mode: the case of the Singapore building and construction industry," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 343-353.
    20. George Anastassopoulos, 2003. "MNE subsidiaries versus domestic enterprises: an analysis of their ownership and location-specific advantages," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(13), pages 1505-1514.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wsi:jecxxx:v:15:y:2007:i:01:n:s0218495807000046. 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: Tai Tone Lim (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.worldscinet.com/jec/jec.shtml .

    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.