Enterprise Architecture as an Enabler of Organisational Ambidexterity for Sustainable Transformation
Paper Type
Complete
Paper Number
PACIS2026-1839
Description
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pressures increasingly require organizations to integrate sustainability into digital infrastructures and operational processes. Firms must simultaneously explore new sustainability opportunities and exploit existing capabilities, creating a strategic tension known as ambidexterity. However, the mechanisms through which organizations achieve this balance remain insufficiently understood. This study examines how enterprise architecture (EA) enables ambidexterity in ESG-driven transformation. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities framework, the study conceptualizes EA as a coordination mechanism supporting sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring capabilities. Using a qualitative design, data were collected through 13 semi-structured interviews with enterprise architects, sustainability leaders, and senior managers, complemented by organizational documents. The analysis identifies 18 EA-enabled capabilities organized across six meta-capability domains. Findings show that EA facilitates cross-functional coordination, data integration, and governance structures that enable both exploratory ESG innovation and exploitative operational efficiency, while highlighting structural constraints that limit the institutionalization of ESG initiatives.
Recommended Citation
Alshehri, Maryam Hamoud; Dilnutt, Rod; and Kurnia, Sherah, "Enterprise Architecture as an Enabler of Organisational Ambidexterity for Sustainable Transformation" (2026). PACIS 2026 Proceedings. 12.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2026/it_strategy/it_strategy/12
Enterprise Architecture as an Enabler of Organisational Ambidexterity for Sustainable Transformation
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pressures increasingly require organizations to integrate sustainability into digital infrastructures and operational processes. Firms must simultaneously explore new sustainability opportunities and exploit existing capabilities, creating a strategic tension known as ambidexterity. However, the mechanisms through which organizations achieve this balance remain insufficiently understood. This study examines how enterprise architecture (EA) enables ambidexterity in ESG-driven transformation. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities framework, the study conceptualizes EA as a coordination mechanism supporting sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring capabilities. Using a qualitative design, data were collected through 13 semi-structured interviews with enterprise architects, sustainability leaders, and senior managers, complemented by organizational documents. The analysis identifies 18 EA-enabled capabilities organized across six meta-capability domains. Findings show that EA facilitates cross-functional coordination, data integration, and governance structures that enable both exploratory ESG innovation and exploitative operational efficiency, while highlighting structural constraints that limit the institutionalization of ESG initiatives.
Comments
11-Strategy