Decoding Employee ambidexterity: Understanding drivers, constraints, and performance implications for thriving in the evolving work landscapes - A scoping review

Employee ambidexterity (EA) is becoming increasingly recognised as a significant factor in enhancing individual and organisational performance across diverse industries. Ambidexterity refers to the capacity to exploit and explore organisational resources simultaneously. Scholars from diverse industry sectors have been motivated to delve deeper into the topic of EA due to its growing popularity. The objective of conducting a scoping review was to scrutinise the existing literature and identify the key drivers and constraints that impact EA to thrive in the changing work landscape. The insights gained from this review can assist decision-makers in formulating effective strategies to cultivate the ambidexterity skills of their workforce and achieve desirable outcomes. This review adheres to the PRISMA-ScR protocol. Articles were obtained from databases including Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost (Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete). The body of literature concerning EA is in its nascent stage. 23 articles assessing EA's performance outcomes were identified using targeted search terms and thorough screening. After conducting a thorough thematic analysis using the iterative categorisation (IC) technique, tailored for scoping a review, we successfully identified twenty-nine factors contributing to the enhancement of EA, meticulously organised into five distinct categories: organisational factors, social connectedness, employee behaviour, employee personality, and work environment related factors. Similarly, we discovered four factors that impede EA: functional tenure, team identification, bounded discretion, and conscientiousness. Our findings underscore the profound impact of employee ambidexterity on distinct types of performance. Among the sixteen types of performance reported to be enhanced by EA, ten are linked to individual performance, while six are tied to organisational performance. Notably, our analysis revealed that nearly all studies have relied on cross-sectional research methods except for one. However, we advocate for the exploration of longitudinal studies as they hold the promise of offering a more comprehensive understanding of EA. The paper presents valuable insights into how to cultivate ambidextrous capabilities in the workforce for unparalleled success in today's rapidly evolving work environment. Additionally, it identifies several intriguing avenues for future research that could further elucidate and bridge existing knowledge gaps.