The aim of this work was to study the relationship between ambidexterity and environmental and social performance of organizations. Defined as the ability to balance efforts between exploitation and exploration activities, respectively based on incremental and radical innovations, ambidexterity has been identified as an essential capability in creating competitive advantage. Studies on the subject have been relating superior economic performance to ambidexterity, leaving a gap in relation to other dimensions of sustainability. Due to the importance that the sustainability issue has taken on in society, this research studies the environmental and social performance of ambidextrous organizations. Data obtained in a survey conducted among 131 companies in the electronics industry were subjected to Cluster Analysis, Variance Analysis and Scheffé post hoc test. As a result, it was found that the 44 ambidextrous organizations achieved the higher social and environmental performance, showing the positive relationship between ambidexterity and social and environmental performance.
Innovation; sustainability; ambidextrous organizations; social and environmental performance
