Relationship ambidexterity in buyer–supplier relations

Firms are complex entities that often engage in activities that pull them in different directions. This realization has been widely heralded in the organizational ambidexterity literature. Our research extends this literature by introducing the concept of Relationship Ambidexterity (RA) and examining its antecedents and consequences. We propose that RA is a firm-level strategy in which a buyer is simultaneously committed to an existing supplier while actively pursuing diversification via new relations with potential suppliers. Thus, while organizational ambidexterity focuses on the simultaneous pursuit of existing and novel offerings, RA focuses on the simultaneous pursuit of existing and novel relationships. Our inquiry begins by integrating ambidexterity theory with insights gleaned from a qualitative study among nearly two dozen buyers to form a set of hypotheses. We then test these hypotheses via two survey studies (i.e., US and China) among nearly 550 respondents. Our findings reveal that RA is enhanced by buyer resources and experience and that supplier trust amplifies the effect of resources, while supplier market uncertainty weakens the effect of experience. Furthermore, our results also show that RA enhances firm performance, particularly when buyers have trusted suppliers and operate in uncertain supply markets.