The role of supply management resilience in attaining ambidexterity: a dynamic capabilities approach
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
ISSN: 0885-8624
Article publication date: 1 February 2016
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the necessary role of supply management (SM) resilience capabilities in making effective trade-offs to attain an ambidextrous state, i.e. the state of attaining exploitation and exploration with dexterity, or achieving high levels of both. Sustainability requires effective trade-offs among economic, environmental and social outcomes while maintaining the longevity of the buying firm. Existing literature highlights the difficulty of making effective trade-offs due to likely tensions between divergent demands, i.e. tensions between exploitative and explorative performance goals.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual study extends insights from the dynamic capabilities approach to explore the nature of SM resilience and its role in attaining ambidexterity.
Findings
This study proposes SM resilience as a multifaceted dynamic capability that is determined by two contrasting aspects of stability (engineering and ecological resilience) that aid the buyer’s firm to ambidextrously adapt and transform in turbulent environments.
Practical implications
The study highlights the competencies and resilience capabilities that managers need to develop and maintain in pursuing an effective balance of exploitation and exploration in SM.
Originality/value
The proposed framework extends existing SM sustainability frameworks by examining the nature and dimensionality of resilience and linking it to ambidexterity. The proposed framework provides a platform for the integration of theoretical aspects from various research streams; socio-ecological literature, dynamic capabilities and organizational ambidexterity.
Keywords
Citation
Eltantawy, R.A. (2016), "The role of supply management resilience in attaining ambidexterity: a dynamic capabilities approach", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 123-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-05-2014-0091
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited