Managers across the supply chain are expected to meet customers’ ever-changing needs (exploration of new opportunities) by employing innovative approaches, while operations people are inclined towards enhancing efficiency and productivity (exploitation of current practices). However, little is known about how firms manage this paradoxical tension in meeting the conflicting objectives of operations (in meeting existing demand) and supply chain management (in fulfilling future demand) through the simultaneous pursuit of explorative and exploitative activities. To address this issue, we explore the roles of the supply chain knowledge development process (SCKDP) and bricolage in mitigating the tension between exploration and exploitation. We use a survey to collect data from large-scale firms operating in north-western India to test the research model. The empirical results generally support our hypothesis that SCKDP is significantly related to bricolage. Both SCKDP and bricolage positively affect the simultaneous pursuit of explorative and exploitative operational activities, which in turn have a significant impact on supply chain performance in terms of cycle time, supply chain relationships, and financial measures.

整个供应链的管理人员应通过采用创新方法来满足客户不断变化的需求（探索新机会），而运营人员则倾向于提高效率和生产力（利用当前实践）。然而，对于公司如何通过同时进行探索性和剥削性活动来满足运营（满足现有需求）和供应链管理（满足未来需求）的冲突目标，如何管理这种矛盾的紧张局势，我们知之甚少。为了解决这个问题，我们探索了供应链知识开发过程 (SCKDP) 和拼凑在缓解探索和开发之间的紧张关系中的作用。我们使用一项调查从在印度西北部经营的大型公司收集数据来测试研究模型。实证结果普遍支持我们的假设，即 SCKDP 与拼贴显着相关。SCKDP 和 bricolage 对探索性和剥削性运营活动的同时追求产生积极影响，进而在周期时间、供应链关系和财务措施方面对供应链绩效产生重大影响。