Navigating Organizational Ambidexterity Through Data‐Driven Experimentation: A Cross‐Industry Perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates how data‐driven experimentation act as a key capability to sustain innovation, adaptability and organizational ambidexterity in disruptive environments, and how differences in data availability shape experimentation practices across firms. The study employs a multiple‐case study methodology, analyzing 14 interpretative cases through 32 in‐depth interviews. The data were systematically analyzed using a three‐level coding process, supplemented by triangulation with secondary data sources to ensure robustness and validity. Findings reveal that data‐driven firms characterized by advanced digital infrastructure deploy integrative ambidextrous approaches enabled by data‐driven experimentation embedded into their core processes and culture. This capability allows them to sense, seize and adapt rapidly in disruptive environments through contextual and integrative approaches to exploration and exploitation. In contrast, traditional firms rely more on differentiated approaches to exploration and exploitation, often constrained by limited data availability, rigid structures, and hierarchical cultures, which reduce their adaptability. The study also highlights the role of organizational culture—particularly failure tolerance, ethical experimentation and democratization—in shaping how experimentation practices translate into ambidexterity and innovation outcomes. While findings are context‐specific, they offer significant insights into how data‐driven experimentation supports organizational ambidexterity and adaptability under conditions of technological turbulence. Future research could explore longitudinal evolutions and sector‐specific variations. Firms seeking to enhance adaptive capacity should align experimentation practices with their data availability, invest in internal experimentation capabilities when feasible, and foster cultures that embrace failure and ethical experimentation, as well as more distributed and democratized decision‐making processes. This paper contributes to the literature on organizational ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities by conceptualizing data‐driven experimentation as a microfoundation of adaptive capabilities and by highlighting the role of data availability in shaping experimentation practices, and providing comparative insights into how different organizations leverage experimentation to sustain innovation and adaptability in disruptive environments.