How digital strategic rhythm influences ambidextrous innovation in high-growth firms: Pathways and boundary conditions

High-growth firms must sustain rapid expansion while renewing their innovation capabilities during digitalization. This study examines how digital strategic rhythm, defined as the timing, frequency, and coordination of digital strategic actions, is associated with exploratory and incremental innovation. Drawing on temporal strategy theory, we propose that structural and relational embeddedness provide distinct network mechanisms and that digital sensemaking conditions the conversion of strategic rhythm into network embeddedness. Survey data from 431 middle- and senior-level managers at Chinese high-growth firms were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression. Digital strategic rhythm was positively associated with both forms of innovation. Structural embeddedness partially mediated its association with exploratory innovation, whereas relational embeddedness partially mediated its association with incremental innovation. Digital sensemaking strengthened the association between digital strategic rhythm and innovation outcomes within the structural embeddedness pathway, whereas the corresponding interaction within the relational embeddedness pathway was not significant. These findings extend temporal strategy research by showing how the temporal coordination of digital actions creates distinct network pathways to ambidextrous innovation. They also suggest that high-growth firms should align digital initiatives with network strategies suited to exploratory and incremental innovation.