Knowledge workers' ambidexterity: conceptual separation of competencies and behavioural dispositions

While previous literature on organisational ambidexterity research has largely focused on theorganisational or top management level, research on individual ambidexterity is in the earlystage. The present study expands research in this area by proposing conceptual separation ofcore competencies for individuals’ ambidexterity and their relations to behaviouralambidexterity. Drawing from the literature on organisational ambidexterity and knowledgemanagement, the authors coined the term knowledge workers’ integrated ambidexteritycompetency, a multidimensional construct that consists of cognitive, information, and socialskills. Hypotheses are developed to test the multidimensionality and causal relationshipsamong constructs. Empirical analysis with survey data from 293 knowledge workers inSouth Korea supports the validity of the multidimensional construct and indicates thatintegrated ambidexterity competency, involving an interaction of cognitive, information, andsocial skills, drives behavioural ambidexterity. The contribution of the study lies inadvancing the theory of organisational ambidexterity by conceptual separation ofcompetencies from behaviour as well as the development of the multifaceted perspectives ofthe competencies, and the development of measurement items.