Organizational Learning from Failure Can Augment Ambidexterity: Evidence from Japan

Abstract

It is important for companies to adapt to changes in the business environment to gain or maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. In other words, they need to augment their management base by upgrading their current businesses and finding new business opportunities in line with future corporate growth and life cycles. However, it is difficult to achieve these objectives concurrently. In this study, we present a case of a Japanese company that has grown as a measure of information sharing and organizational learning from failure. We aim to explain how organizational learning from failure has led to ambidexterity, which consists of exploration and exploitation; we also examine whether organizational learning from failure is effective in exploration and exploitation. We used a quantitative approach through surveys and analysis of covariance structure. As a result, we find that organizational learning from failure is more effective for exploitation than for exploration in this company.