Information Technology and the Ambidexterity Hypotheses: An Analysis in Product Development

Abstract

This paper explores ambidexterity, defined as the capacity to simultaneously achieve exploration and exploitation activities at a product development level. Building on the knowledge-based view literature, it is argued that information technology -defined by a combination of convergent and divergent dimensions- may facilitate ambidexterity in the context of product development. Furthermore, ambidexterity mediates the relationship between information technology and performance. Data collected from 80 product development projects supports our hypotheses. Most importantly, the study presents evidence that ambidexterity mediates the relationship between the information technology that encourages exploration and exploitation and subsequent performance in product development.