Developing digital transformation capability: The role of managerial ambidextrous learning

This paper integrates individual ambidexterity, digital transformation, and dynamic capabilities literatures to develop a framework that helps to understand the role of managerial ambidextrous learning in building the digital transformation capability of an organization. Specifically, based on a comprehensive literature review, it identifies competing demands in terms of managerial learning orientation serving as microfoundations of different dynamic organizational capabilities underpinning digital transformation. We adopt an ambidextrous perspective to learning and propose that managers need to balance between explorative and exploitative learning to aid with building digital transformation capabilities. This paper contributes to ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities theoretical perspectives by its distinctive focus on the role of learning in the context of organizational-level digital transformation. It aims to enhance understanding of how firms may support digital efforts by becoming sensitive to and supporting managerial ambidexterity as a critical factor in a successful digital transformation journey. We suggest future research efforts to empirically investigate the role of managerial ambidextrous behaviour in digital efforts.