Managing Ambidexterity in a Digital Entrepreneurship Context: Startups
in the Banking and Financial Sector
Abstract
We explore digital entrepreneurship in the banking and financial sector
through the concept of organizational ambidexterity (AO), which is
defined as the balance between the exploration of new activities and the
efficient exploitation of existing activities. We examine how AO can
help meet the challenges of viability and sustainability faced by
fintech, which are startups that combine the attributes of digital
technologies and finance. Based on interviews with founders/managers,
our results show the development of a “mixed ambidexterity”, which
combines exploration and exploitation activities. Contrary to the
dominant scientific discourse, different forms of ambidexterity do not
in themselves constitute “pure” or opposed forms. They can be combined
using managerial levers to develop “multi-ambidextrous” structures,
particularly in dynamic and competitive technological environments. Our
research contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by a reflection
through the managerial concept of AO. We propose an entrepreneurial
approach based on entrepreneurs’ capacities to reconcile exploration and
exploitation. We therefore extend our understanding of entrepreneur
behavior through the concept of AO and address the lack of research on
this concept in the entrepreneurship literature. Theoretical and
practical implications are proposed for designing ambidextrous
entrepreneurial organizations.