Exploitation, exploration, and process management: The productivity dilemma revisited

Mary J. Benner, Michael L. Tushman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2871 Scopus citations

Abstract

We develop a contingency view of process management's influence on both technological Innovation and organizational adaptation. We argue that while process management activities are beneficial for organizations in stable contexts, they are fundamentally inconsistent with all but incremental innovation and change. But dynamic capabilities are rooted In both exploitative and exploratory activities. We argue that process management activities must be buffered from exploratory activities and that ambidextrous organizational forms provide the complex contexts for these inconsistent activities to coexist.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)238-256
Number of pages19
JournalAcademy of Management Review
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2003

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