Abstract

Although IT ambidexterity can improve organizational agility and firm performance, there is limited attention to how it is developed. This article theoretically elaborates and empirically examines the effects of two types of communication modes between the Chief Information Officer and the Top Management Team, formal mutual communication (FMC) and informal mutual communication (IFMC), on IT ambidexterity, or the proportional balance between IT exploitation and IT exploration, and how these effects vary across organizational and environmental contexts. Based on fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) of the survey data from 256 dyads of business and IT executives from the Chinese shipbuilding industry, we find that all configurations for achieving IT ambidexterity are observed in dynamic environments, where both FMC and IFMC can play enabling roles, depending on the specific firm size. In addition, both modes can serve as enablers of IT exploitation. While IFMC always enables IT exploration, FMC may be irrelevant in some contexts or even counterproductive in other contexts. This paper expands the literature on IT ambidexterity by investigating FMC and IFMC as its antecedents, which makes a significant contribution to both IS research and practice.

DOI

10.17705/1jais.00917

Download

Share

COinS