Dynamic Capabilities and Ambidexterity for Post

Pandemic Excellence
at
International Research Conference Embracing and Transformation- Through
Breakthrough Innovation and Creativity (D Y Patil B-School, Pune & Dr. Soemoto
Univ, Indonesia)

Date of Presentation 23rd March 2021

Prof. Arup Barman

Dept. of Business Administration
Assam University, Silchar (India)
Email: abgeet@gmail.com
 Outlines
• Dynamic Capability and Ambidexterity in Context
• Dynamic Capability in Organizational Context
• Ambidexterity in Organizational Context
• The Evidences of Dynamic Capabilities and
Ambidexterity
• Available Researches
• Future Researches in the Context VUCA Led DC &
Ambidexterity
 Dynamic Capability and Ambidexterity
Context
• Fast Changing –Environment, Economics, Politics,
Teachnologies
• Vulnerable and Volatile Situations Grabbing the
World,
– All Demographics – Gen-Z to Zen-Silent
– All Businesses - Grocery shopping, Sit-Down
Restaurants, Stock Shopping, Shopping in Stores,
– E Commerce Penetration, Rural Living and City-living,
– Public Transport, Business Travels , Colleges and
Universities
 Experiencing VUCA
• V- Vulnerable- with question of Managing vivid &
dramatic organisation
• U- Uncertainty with questions for unpredictability
• C-Complexity in search for a Simplicity
• A- Ambiguity in search of clarity
A search for a solution for VUCA Situation and World- is
the common quest for individual, groups,
organizational aspects for sustainability.
Dynamic Capabilities- As a Cliché
• DC means firms capacity to convert the
potential resources for competitive
environment- with attributes- (Berney,1991)
– V= Valuable,
– R= Rare,
– I= Imperfectly Imitable,
– N= Non-Substitutability
 Let us know a brief on DC
• Dynamic capability is “the firm’s ability to
integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and
external competences to address rapidly
changing environments” (David J. Teece, Gary
Pisano, and Amy Shuen).
 Dynamic Capability
• Many a time we under DC as the ability to
integrate, build and transform internal and
external competencies.
• We must understand the DCs elements-
Adadptive Capability, Absorbtive Capability,
Innovative Capabilities.
Dynamic Capabilities as Strategies
Watch Dr. Teece and others describe dynamic
capabilities and strategy:
– Dynamic Capabilities: Addressing Deep Uncertainties
– Dynamic Capabilities: Framing the Problem through Sensing
– Dynamic Capabilities: Globalization: Why It’s a Brave New World
– Dynamic Capabilities: Beating Back the Short-Termism
– Beyond the Next Big Thing: Stewardship of Intangible Assets through D
ynamic Capabilities
 DCs in New Challenges
• Three dynamic capabilities are necessary in order
to meet new challenges.
• Organizations People,
• Technology,
• Customers
• All these existing strategic assets have to be
transformed or reconfigured to meet the new
challenge (Teece)
•
 Processes of Dynamic Capabilites
• Literature Speaks
• Dynamic capabilities develop process through three
processes,
• 1) Experience Accumulation,
• 2) Knowledge Articulation,
• 3) Knowledge Codification.

Source 12Manage Executive Fast Track; Dynamic Capabilities; in the

https://www.12manage.com/description_teece_dynamic_capabilities.html
 Practical Aspects of DC
Process
• Learning
• New assets
(Acquiring, Converting , Transforming Reconfiguration)
• Co-specialization
• Asset orchestration
 Ambidexterity
• Oganizations Need to be Sustainable, Competitive
and Innovative
• Attracts attention of Dual tensions of ambidexterity
(exploration and exploitation)
• Ventures across the world have come into view as
the consequential response to new social,
technological, health, economic paradigms during
the challenging times. Particularly during natural
disasters, uncertainty and in economic transition
 Ambidexterity Evolving Again
• Embryonic ambidexterity concept are evolving as novel concept during
Pandemic.

• Before Going to History- Let us see & define

• “an ambidextrous firm is one that is capable of both exploiting existing
competencies as well as exploring new opportunities, and also that achieving
ambidexterity enables a firm to enhance its performance and competitiveness”

• Source: Cao. Q. & et.al, Unpacking Organizational Ambidexterity: Dimension,

Contingencies, Synergistic Effect; in URL
http://www.sfu.ca/~erg/research/ambidexterity.pdf. (Browsed on 10/03/2021)
 Ambidextrous Organization
• “organizational ambidexterity as
an organization's ability to be aligned and efficient
in its management of today's business demands as
well as being adaptive to changes in the
environment at the same time”

• Source: Duncan, R. (1976). The ambidextrous organization: Designing dual

structures for innovation. Killman, R. H., L. R. Pondy, and D. Sleven (eds.)
The Management of Organization. New York: North Holland. 167-188.
 Attributes of Ambidextrousness
• The main attributes of ambidextrous company,
which can “continuously solve the trade-off
between being fast & creative and scale-
driven & productive”.
• “ambidexterity as the organizational capability
of developing new business (Exploration)
running existing business (Exploitation) in
parallel”
 Ambidexterities as the Cliche
• Structural Ambidextrousness (Separate Structure for Different Activities)

• Contextual ambidexterity- (making a choice between alignment-oriented and

adaptation-oriented activities, in the context of their day-to-day work.

• Sequential ambidexterity balancing exploration and exploitation in time by

oscillating back and forth between periods of exploration and exploitation
 
• Punctuated Ambidexterity (Disentanglement and Disintegration of task and activities)

• Peripatric Ambidexterity (Genetics – Substitution one Species by developing other,

Analogies applies in Business through Sustitutions)
• Sources: P.S. Adler, B. Goldoftas and D.I. Levine, “Flexibility Versus Efficiency? A Case Study of Model Changeovers in the
Toyota Production System,” Organization Science 10 (January 1999): 43–68; and S. Ghoshal and C.A. Bartlett, “Linking
Organizational Context and Managerial Action: The Dimensions of Quality of Management,” Strategic Management Journal 15
(summer 1994): 91–112.
Global Evidences of Applying Ambidexterity
Global Evidences of Application of Ambidexterity
Indian Evidences of Ambidexterity (
Indian Evidences of Ambidexterity
 Both Capabilities Entailing
• To Survive in VUCA – Speed of Innovation back
by the speed of creativity is must
• The Relevant Episteme evolving from DC and
ambidexterity are –
– Value, Rareness, Imperfectly Imitable, Non-
Substitutability, Adaptive Capability, Absorbtive
Capability, Innovative Capabilities, Configuration,
Reconfiguration, Transformation,
– Exploitable capacities, Exploration capabilities
Contextualizing Ambidextrous Behavior

“a combination of high levels of exploration and

exploitation is positively related to innovative
work behavior” and that “specializing in either
explorative or exploitative behavior is
beneficial for innovative work behavior”.
 At the Age of Continued Innovations

• Need to focus on creativity (to Cope)

• Design & Redesign of Products, Markets, Customers,
Organisation, Technologies
• Where
• The Dynamism or DC is the Cliché for survival
Ambidexterity is the Solution
Future Research and Professional Implications

• Research are ample (on Organizational

Aspects)
• On Developing Conceptions
• But Not that Adequate- on
• In the Context of Pandemic Period,
• Not for Human Resource Development aspects
• Not on skills and innovation related aspects