Is ambidexterity strategy beneficial to international joint venture performance?

Abstract

While previous studies highlight ambidexterity is critical for firms’ sustainable competitive advantage, whether IJVs can benefit from an ambidextrous strategy remains unknown. With a polynomial surface analysis, this study considers both the balance and intensity elements of ambidexterity simultaneously, and examines their effects on the performance of 191 international joint ventures (IJVs) in China. Research findings reveal that a focused vs an ambidextrous strategy has a U- shaped effect, whereas the ambidexterity intensity exerts an inverted U-shaped effect on IJV performance. Moreover, IJV foreign parent control moderates the ambidexterity-IJV performance link. The focused strategy generates better IJV performance when foreign parent control is lower, but the intensity of ambidexterity leads to greater IJV performance when foreign parent control is higher. These findings offer important theoretical and methodological advances for ambidexterity research in IJVs.