Continous Innovation in Entrepreneurial Growth Companies: Exploring the Ambidextrous Strategy

Publication Type

Journal contribution (peer reviewed)

Authors

Kollmann, Tobias / Kuckertz, Andreas / Stöckmann, Christoph

Year of publication

2009

Published in

Journal of Enterprising Culture

Band/Volume

17/3

Page (from - to)

297-322

This paper applies ambidextrous management to entrepreneurial growth companies. Ambidexterity aims at overcoming organizational inertia that threatens organizational survival. The concept is typically applied to established corporations in order to cure existing inertia. However, ambidextrous management may also help to avoid the emergence of inertia in entrepreneurial growth companies. We therefore discuss ambidexterity against the background of entrepreneurial growth companies and reveal how it can be used to build sustainable organizations. Our reasoning is based on organization science and entrepreneurship theory; in doing so we derive two groups of theoretical propositions explaining the antecedents of emergence and the antecedents of success of ambidextrous management in entrepreneurial growth companies.