Innovation Ambidexterity in High-Tech Startups The Role of Knowledge Integration and Digital Sensing Capabilities
Keywords:
Innovation ambidexterity, knowledge integration, digital sensing capabilities, exploratory innovation, exploitative innovation, high-tech startups, dynamic capabilitiesAbstract
This study examined how knowledge integration and digital sensing capabilities influence innovation ambidexterity in high-tech startups through their effects on exploratory and exploitative innovation. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used to investigate relationships among knowledge integration, digital sensing capabilities, exploratory innovation, exploitative innovation, and innovation ambidexterity. Data were collected from founders, managers, and innovation leaders across high-tech startups operating in digitally intensive environments. A structured survey instrument measured all constructs using validated multi-item Likert scales covering knowledge management practices, digital sensing routines, and innovation activities. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess reliability and validity, followed by structural equation modeling to test direct and indirect effects. Model fit indices, standardized path coefficients, and bootstrap-based mediation estimates were computed to evaluate the hypothesized relationships. Knowledge integration significantly predicted exploratory innovation (β = 0.29, p < 0.001) and exploitative innovation (β = 0.24, p < 0.001), while digital sensing capabilities showed even stronger effects on exploratory innovation (β = 0.41, p < 0.001) and exploitative innovation (β = 0.33, p < 0.001). Exploratory innovation (β = 0.39, p < 0.001) and exploitative innovation (β = 0.34, p < 0.001) significantly predicted innovation ambidexterity, but neither knowledge integration nor digital sensing had significant direct effects on ambidexterity. Mediation analysis confirmed significant indirect effects for both capabilities through exploratory and exploitative innovation, with digital sensing demonstrating the strongest cumulative mediation effects (β = 0.27, p < 0.001). Innovation ambidexterity in high-tech startups emerges primarily through innovation processes rather than direct capability effects. Knowledge integration and digital sensing capabilities enhance ambidexterity only when translated into exploratory and exploitative innovation behaviors, highlighting the critical role of capability enactment and innovation routines in achieving simultaneous exploration and exploitation.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Amir Hossein Taherzadeh (Corresponding author)
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