Organizational ambidexterity and performance of Large Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Abstract

The research objective was to establish the influence of organizational ambidexterity on the Kenyan large manufacturing firms’ performance. The studies linking ambidexterity to organizational performance are scanty and with mixed findings. The few studies that have been done indicate that there is no clear ambidexterity -organizational performance relationship. The research was founded on dynamic capabilities theory. On the basis of reviewed literature, a conceptual model and hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Positivism provided philosophical foundation. The population was the entire 107 Kenyan large manufacturing firms, therefore a census. Cross-sectional research survey design was used. Primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire. The respondents were the senior managers of the large manufacturing firms in Kenya; namely either Chief Executive Officers/Managing Directors (CEOs/MDs) or General Managers (GMs), or Heads of departments (HODs). The hypothesis that Organizational ambidexterity has no significant influence on the performance of large manufacturing firms in Kenya was tested using simple linear regression analysis. The results showed positive and statistically significant influence of organizational ambidexterity on the performance of Kenyan large manufacturing firms