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Cited by 3,705Innovation and Knowledge ManagementManagement and Organizational StudiesTeam Dynamics and Performance

Exploratory Innovation, Exploitative Innovation, and Performance: Effects of Organizational Antecedents and Environmental Moderators

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Jansen, Justin J. P., Van Den Bosch, Frans A. J., Volberda, Henk W.·2006·Management Science
DOI 10.1287/mnsc.1060.0576
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Abstract

Research on exploration and exploitation is burgeoning, yet our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of both activities remains rather unclear. We advance the growing body of literature by focusing on the apparent differences of exploration and exploitation and examining implications for using formal (i.e., centralization and formalization) and informal (i.e., connectedness) coordination mechanisms. This study further examines how environmental aspects (i.e., dynamism and competitiveness) moderate the effectiveness of exploratory and exploitative innovation. Results indicate that centralization negatively affects exploratory innovation, whereas formalization positively influences exploitative innovation. Interestingly, connectedness within units appears to be an important antecedent of both exploratory and exploitative innovation. Furthermore, our findings reveal that pursuing exploratory innovation is more effective in dynamic environments, whereas pursuing exploitative innovation is more beneficial to a unit’s financial performance in more competitive environments. Through this richer explanation and empirical assessment, we contribute to a greater clarity and better understanding of how ambidextrous organizations coordinate the development of exploratory and exploitative innovation in organizational units and successfully respond to multiple environmental conditions.

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93 of 93 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Even when environmental states appear familiar and previously successful organizational responses can be identified, this does not necessarily ensure that the same response will again and again be the most effective one.

    “Second, even when environmental states appear familiar and previously successful organizational responses can be identified, this does not necessarily ensure that the same response will again and again be the most effective one (Jansen et al., 2006;Pierce et al., 2002).”

    From On the contingent value of dynamic capabilities for competitive advantage: The nonlinear moderating effect of environmental dynamism (2014) · cites this paper as Jansen et al., 2006

    The Discussion and Conclusion (page unavailable) reports that exploiting existing products and markets can reduce financial performance in dynamic environments, supporting the point that a response need not remain effective. The paper does not examine apparently familiar environmental states or whether a previously successful response remains the best choice when those states recur. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • The focused research setting helps control for industry-specific or company-specific differences that might mask significant effects.

    “On the one hand, this focused research setting helps to control for industry-specific or company-specific differences that might mask significant effects (Jansen, Van Den Bosch, & Volberda, 2006).”

    From What satisfies younger versus older employees, and why? An aging perspective on equity theory to explain interactive effects of employee age, monetary rewards, and task contributions on job satisfaction (2020) · cites this paper as Jansen, Van Den Bosch, & Volberda, 2006

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. March, J.G., H.A. Simon. 1958. Organizations. John Wiley, New York
  2. Rowley, T., D. Behrens, D. Krackhardt. 2000. Redundant Governance Structures: An Analysis of Structural and Relational Embeddedness in the Steel and Semiconductor Industries. Strategic Management Journal 21 369-386
  3. Paul W.L. Vlaar, Frans A.J. Van den Bosch and Henk W. Volberda ERS-2006-034-STR http://hdl.handle.net/1765/7879
  4. Paul W.L. Vlaar, Frans A.J. Van den Bosch and Henk W. Volberda ERS-2006-035-STR http://hdl.handle.net/1765/7877 Complex Incremental Product Innovation in Established Service Firms: A Micro Institutional Perspective
  5. Patrick A.M. Vermeulen, Frans A.J. Van den Bosch and Henk W. Volberda ERS-2006-037-STR http://hdl.handle.net/1765/7880

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Authors
Jansen, J. J. P., Van Den Bosch, F. A. J., & Volberda, H. W.
Affiliations
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
  • RSM Erasmus University, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands
ORCID
Venue
Management Science
Publisher
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)
Published
2006-11
Volume
52
Issue
11
Pages
1661-1674
ISSN
  • 0025-1909 (ISSN-L)
  • 1526-5501
DOI
10.1287/mnsc.1060.0576
OpenAlex
W2240963366
Cited by
3,705
References
88
Citations by year
2026: 267 · 2025: 257 · 2024: 295 · 2023: 278 · 2022: 297 · 2021: 272 · 2020: 262 · 2019: 251 · 2018: 189 · 2017: 211 · 2016: 169 · 2015: 194 · 2014: 158 · 2013: 186 · 2012: 146
FWCI
104.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • Management Science (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
  • ERIM Report Series Research in Management (submittedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Innovation and Knowledge Management
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Team Dynamics and Performance
Keywords
exploratory innovation, exploitative innovation, ambidexterity, organizational performance, centralization, formalization, connectedness, environmental dynamism, competitiveness, environmental moderators, organizational units

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