Individual Ambidexterity, Relational Context and Academic Entrepreneurship Performance: Too Much of a Good Thing?

Chang, Yi Ying; Chapman, Gary; Hughes, Paul; Chang, Che Yuan

Abstract

Scholars have called for a better understanding of the performance consequences of individual ambidexterity. In this work, we utilize the context of academic entrepreneurship to study how and why individual ambidexterity impacts academic entrepreneurship performance, and whether relational context moderates this link. Alongside the benefits, we argue that higher levels of individual ambidexterity generate switching, coordination and cognitive costs that can harm performance. Acknowledging the simultaneous presence of varying costs and benefits over the range of individual ambidexterity, we propose that individual ambidexterity has an inverted U-shaped relationship with academic entrepreneurship performance, in which moderate levels produce superior performance. We further argue that relational context enhances the performance benefits of individual ambidexterity through providing access to novel knowledge and resources. In doing so, it shifts the turning point so that a higher level of individual ambidexterity produces peak academic entrepreneurship performance before the relationship turns. Utilizing data on Taiwanese scientists, we find strong evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between individual ambidexterity and academic entrepreneurship performance, and for the moderating role of relational context.

Citation

Chang, Y. Y., Chapman, G., Hughes, P., & Chang, C. Y. (2024). Individual Ambidexterity, Relational Context and Academic Entrepreneurship Performance: Too Much of a Good Thing?. British Journal of Management, 35(2), 750-774. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12733

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 13, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 17, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024-04
• Deposit Date: Apr 27, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: May 18, 2025
• Journal: British Journal of Management
• Print ISSN: 1045-3172
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-8551
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 750-774
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12733
• Keywords: ambidexterity; individual ambidexterity; performance; academic entrepreneurship; relational context; Taiwan
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/20003051
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8551.12733
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Chang, Y.-Y., Chapman, G., Hughes, P. and Chang, C.-Y. (2023), Individual Ambidexterity, Relational Context and Academic Entrepreneurship Performance: Too Much of a Good Thing?. Br. J. Manag., which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8551.12733. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library