Mechanisms of Managing Ambidexterity in Growth Phase of Start-Up Firms and Role of Top Management Teams in the Process

Start-up firms need to balance their exploration and exploitation for survival and growth in long term. We focus here on identifying how ambidexterity is managed in growth phase of start-up firms. To empirically investigate this phenomenon, four cases following an inductive logic based multiple case research method is used. Mechanisms used by start-ups to manage ambidexterity is then identified based on within and cross-case analysis of these cases. We find that divergent and convergent decision making, adopting a domain based approach, allowing independent ventures within organization, and having exploration and exploitation champions at different levels leads to linking exploration and exploitation activities, which then leads to organizational ambidexterity. Top management team (TMT) characteristics, TMT capabilities, and TMT actions and behaviours influences creation of these mechanisms as a means of managing organizational ambidexterity