From Network Centrality to Innovation Ambidexterity: The Roles of Resource Orchestration and Network Responsiveness in New Ventures

Network centrality provides new ventures with access to external knowledge, resources, and collaborative opportunities. Yet prior research has not fully explained how this structural advantage relates to different forms of innovation ambidexterity. Drawing on resource orchestration theory, this study develops a contingent framework examining how network centrality is associated with balanced innovation ambidexterity and combined innovation ambidexterity through resource orchestration. Using survey data from 345 new ventures in China, the results show that network centrality is positively associated with both balanced innovation ambidexterity and combined innovation ambidexterity, and that resource orchestration partially mediates these relationships. Network responsiveness conditions these relationships, particularly under high environmental dynamism. The study contributes by clarifying the role of resource orchestration in the relationship between network centrality and innovation ambidexterity, distinguishing internal resource orchestration from external relational responsiveness, and identifying contextual differences between balanced and combined innovation ambidexterity. These findings highlight the interdependence among network, resource, and environmental factors in explaining innovation ambidexterity in new ventures.