Research on the microfoundations of ambidexterity has identified a number of drivers that shape the ability of individuals to overcome exploration-exploitation tensions. However, little is known about how these drivers interact and whether they act as complements or substitutes. In a two-stage survey of small and medium-sized enterprises, we find that formal structural drivers and informal contextual drivers of ambidexterity do not demonstrate complementarity, as generally assumed, but rather act at cross-purposes with each other. Furthermore, we find that behaviorally complex executives (those with the ability to think and act ambidextrously) appear to render the effects of the other two drivers relatively unimportant, and are only ever associated with moderate levels of ambidexterity. These findings permit the development of important theoretical insights for ambidexterity research from a microfoundations perspective.

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补充还是替代？关于中小企业双元性驱动因素之间相互作用的微观基础观点

对双手灵巧的微观基础的研究已经确定了许多影响个人克服探索-开发紧张关系的能力的驱动因素。然而，对于这些驱动因素如何相互作用以及它们是作为补充还是替代，我们知之甚少。在对中小型企业的两阶段调查中，我们发现双元性的正式结构驱动因素和非正式背景驱动因素并不像通常假设的那样表现出互补性，而是相互交叉作用。此外，我们发现行为复杂的高管（具有双灵思考和行动能力的高管）似乎使其他两个驱动因素的影响相对不重要，并且只与中等程度的双灵相关。