Does innovation ambidexterity influence restaurant economic performance in the post-COVID-19 era? The mediating effect of customer orientation

In the restaurant industry, innovation ambidexterity entails the organization's ability to successfully manage and blend exploratory and exploitative innovation endeavors with the goal of improving restaurant processes, products, or services. The current study investigates the direct and indirect effects of innovation ambidexterity on the economic performance of restaurant businesses in Tanzania after Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Thus, the study examined the effect of exploitative and exploratory innovation on restaurant economic performance, as well as the mediating effect of customer orientation on the relationship between innovation ambidexterity and restaurant economic performance. The study collected data from 169 randomly selected restaurant managers in Dodoma, Tanzania, and analyzed it using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The findings unveiled that innovation ambidexterity (exploitative and exploratory innovation) has a direct impact on restaurant economic performance. Furthermore, customer orientation was discovered to be a significant mediator of the relationship between innovation ambidexterity and restaurant economic performance. Based on the main findings, restaurants in the post-COVID-19 era should promote innovation and customer-centricity. This is because a workplace that values innovation can inspire creative thinking and new ideas. Also, customer-centricity is critical for understanding and meeting the changing needs of customers.