Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • November 2013
  • Article
  • Academy of Management Perspectives

Organizational Ambidexterity: Past, Present and Future

By: Charles A. O'Reilly III and Michael Tushman
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Organizational ambidexterity refers to the ability of an organization to both explore and exploit—to compete in mature technologies and markets where efficiency, control, and incremental improvement are prized and to also compete in new technologies and markets where flexibility, autonomy, and experimentation are needed. In the past 15 years there has been an explosion of interest and research on this topic. We briefly review the current state of the research, highlighting what we know and don't know about the topic. We close with a point of view on promising areas for ongoing research.

Keywords

Organizational Ambidexterity; Organization Design; Innovation; Leadership; Organizational Design; Innovation and Invention

Citation

O'Reilly, Charles A., III, and Michael Tushman. "Organizational Ambidexterity: Past, Present and Future." Academy of Management Perspectives 27, no. 4 (November 2013): 324–338.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now

About The Author

Michael L. Tushman

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • May–June 2025
    • Harvard Business Review

    Sustainable Business Practices Sustainability as a Business-Model Transformation

    By: Ivanka Visnjic, Felipe Monteiro and Michael Tushman
    • October 2024
    • Strategic Management Journal

    Strategic Decision Making at Platform Transitions: The Case of Nokia (2010-2011).

    By: Timo O. Vuori and Michael Tushman
    • June 2024
    • Faculty Research

    Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress

    By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman
More from the Authors
  • Sustainable Business Practices Sustainability as a Business-Model Transformation By: Ivanka Visnjic, Felipe Monteiro and Michael Tushman
  • Strategic Decision Making at Platform Transitions: The Case of Nokia (2010-2011). By: Timo O. Vuori and Michael Tushman
  • Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.