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Despite the important role that exploitation plays in innovation and new product development (NPD), research on the relative impact of internal organisational stocks of existing knowledge on subsequent exploitation is largely absent. In particular, there is lack of clarity within the extant literature regarding the associations between organisational exploitation and, respectively, the distal-proximal technological experience and radical-incremental innovative experience generated by multiproduct firms. Thus, this study seeks to further enhance researchers’ theoretical understanding on the relationship between organisational exploitation and internal knowledge stocks categorised along two dimensions of organisational experience accumulated by multiproduct firms that have not previously been considered jointly.

This paper pursues a focussed literature review approach and applies the underlying theory of exploitation to develop a theory explaining the possible relationships between organisational exploitation and internal knowledge stocks.

Based on the theory of exploitation, this paper proposes a new direction in studying the various internal knowledge stocks and their respective impact on subsequent organisational exploitation.

The proposed research direction suggests an emerging framework of possible relationships between exploitative new radical products development in firms, and respectively, proximal and distal technological experience, and radical and incremental innovative experience, accumulated in multiproduct firms. This novel framework can guide further research on this topic.

To fill a research gap regarding the possible relationships between subsequent exploitative endeavours and two dimensions of organisational experience that have been traditionally associated with the exploration-exploitation construct, this paper proposes and develops a novel typology of knowledge stocks categorised along two dimensions of organisational experience accumulated by multiproduct firms that have not previously been considered jointly in the literature.

Recognising the increasing relevance of digital platforms in socio-economic dynamics, the paper aims at investigating in which ways digital platforms can influence the economic performances of Italian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) actively engaged in foreign countries.

The paper adopts the interpretative lens provided by the exploration–exploitation dichotomy within current studies in knowledge management for defining knowledge-based factors able to influence the economic performance of Italian SMEs in foreign countries. An explorative study on secondary data related to 746 Italian SMEs is conducted for testing via structural equation modelling (SEM) the positive relationships between (1) SME's investment in information and communication technologies (ICT), (2) number of languages available for the SME's website and (3) number of languages available for SME's social pages and SME's return on sales (ROS) in foreign countries.

The results underline the key role of exploitation factors in terms of influence on SME's performance in foreign countries.

The paper enriches current studies about international marketing providing preliminary evidence about the key role of exploitation factors in influencing SME's performance in foreign countries.

The purpose of this paper is to define co-exploitation, co-exploration, and alliance ambidexterity from the perspective of organizational learning; to analyze how knowledge bases, structural arrangements, and control mechanisms of R&D alliances influence co-exploitation and co-exploration; and to discuss how to achieve alliance ambidexterity by managing paradoxes around knowledge bases, structural arrangements, and control mechanisms.

This is a conceptual paper focussing on how to balance exploitation and exploration at the alliance level through managing three paradoxes of cooperation: similarity vs complementarity, integration vs modularity, and contracts vs trust.

While technological similarity, structural integration, and contracts are more likely to promote co-exploitation, technological complementarity, structural modularity, and trust are more likely to facilitate co-exploration. Alliance ambidexterity, which is beneficial for alliance performance, derives from either the combination of technological complementarity, structural integration, and contracts, or the combination of technological similarity, structural modularity, and trust temporally.

Researchers should analyze the possibility of building alliance ambidexterity in other types of interorganizational relationships, and find other possible antecedents of interorganizational learning.

Managers should not simply treat R&D alliances as one of exploratory interorganizational relationships, but pay equal attention to co-exploitation and co-exploration. To achieve this balance, practitioners should combine technological complementarity with structural integration and contracts, or integrate technological similarity with structural modularity and trust.

This paper is one of the first contributions that analyze how an R&D alliance could gain its ambidexterity through the management of nested cooperation paradoxes.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of dynamic capabilities (DC) (in the view of exploration and exploitation) on competitiveness and performance, considering the mediating role the innovation capability (IC) and branding capabilities (BC)on competitive advantage and firm’s performance and the moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO).

This investigation proposes a theoretical model tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Multi-group analysis was performed to understand the moderating role of. A questionnaire survey was developed to explore the relations between DC and innovation variable. For this study, 387 valid questionnaires were collected from a sample of Portugal SME’ firms. A 90-item questionnaire which consists to study the relationships among all the variables.

The results show that exists a positive direct and indirect influence of DC on competitive advantage and performance variables and mediating impact the IC and BC.

This study has some methodological limitations affecting its potential contributions. As a cross-sectional study that captures one image in time, its ability to identify strict causality between variables is limited. Furthermore, the results are based on log collected from a key respondent, rather than broader actual data. The results are restricted to one country, Portugal. Some variables, such as ICs, may play a different role in other countries. Future research should initially target different countries. Such research could then test the generalizability of the results.

This study has important implications for the managers. It highlights the necessity of firms to develop superior strategic orientation of all their members and to invest in better resources and consequently superior capabilities as a way of achieving high levels of firm performance. Another implication from the study is that the firms should develop their marketing programs by focusing on developing innovativeness.

This study contributes to the understanding of the indirect and direct impact of exploration and exploitation variables, and the mediating role of ICs and BC on the competitive advantage and performance and the moderating effect of EO.

This study aims to investigate how contractual vs. informal governance influences the performance of collaborative innovation projects considering their exploitation vs. exploration character.

Data are collected from a sample of 218 companies that have developed innovative projects in collaboration with other organizations. Regression models are estimated to test the hypotheses.

The results indicate that contractual governance is the most effective for co-exploitation projects compared to informal governance. Specialization in either contractual or informal governance is more effective for co-exploration projects.

Developing collaborative innovation projects with other organizations is an alternative for firms to innovate either by exploiting complementary assets or by exploring new opportunities. Thus, the success of the collaborative innovation project is significantly affected by the way the collaboration is governed. On the one hand, for co-exploitation projects, companies should rely on contracts to improve their performance. On the other hand, for co-exploration projects, governance may specialize in either contracts or informal mechanisms to reach higher performance.

Despite previous studies analyzing the effect of contractual or informal governance on the performance of collaborative innovation projects, no research has focused on comparing simultaneously these effects, by using the innovation character of the project of co-exploitation or co-exploration as a moderator. Therefore, this paper explores comparatively the most effective type of governance mechanism for co-exploitation and co-exploration projects.

The classic distinction between two types of organizational learning – exploitation and exploration – has been unsettled under new forms of workplace regulation. This paper investigates management practices that exploit by exploring, capturing, and enclosing employee efforts (including learning) that occur beyond the formal enterprise. Life itself or bios is put to work. This largely unpaid work is of increasing importance to organizations that require employee qualities it cannot provide on its own accord. Three types “free work” are identified: free time, free self-organization, and free self-development. A critical sociological explanation of this trend is developed and its implications for employment studies discussed.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to analyze which policies of human resource management (HRM) contribute to exploratory learning and which to exploitation learning; and second, to determine the influence of the two types of learning on organizational performance.

The research hypotheses are tested by partial least squares with data from a sample of 100 Spanish hotels.

The results confirm that, in order of importance, selective staffing, comprehensive training and an equitable reward system lead to exploratory learning. Exploitative learning seems to be fundamentally driven by comprehensive training and an equitable reward system (but in a different way than with exploratory learning). Finally, both types of learning have a positive impact on performance.

Both exploratory and exploitative learning result from HRM practices. To maintain performance expectations managers should develop both learning types, which entails the utilization of the best HRM practices.

This study presents empirical evidence around the findings of other studies (Laursen and Foss, 2014; Minbaeva, 2013) which call for further research into whether strategic HRM configurations have positive effects on the two learning types. The results find some practices that have a positive effect in both cases, but with different intensities in their explanations. This finding reveals the need for more detailed exploration around which combinations of HRM practices, in terms of exploratory vs exploitative learning, are advisable for organizations. The study also finds that the two learning types have a positive influence on organizational performance.

Shifting demand and ever-shorter production cycles pressure manufacturing flexibility. Although the literature has established the positive effect of the firm's absorptive capacity on manufacturing flexibility, the separate role of the innovation competencies of exploitation and exploration in such a relationship is still under-investigated. In this study, the authors examine how these competencies affect manufacturing flexibility.

The authors use survey data from 370 manufacturing firms and analyze them using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB–SEM).

The results indicate that absorptive capacity has a strong, positive and direct effect on exploitative and exploratory innovation competencies, proactive and responsive market orientations, and manufacturing flexibility. The authors’ findings also demonstrate that the exploitative innovation competencies mediate the relation between responsive market orientation and manufacturing flexibility. Essentially, these exploitative innovation competencies produce a direct positive effect on manufacturing flexibility while simultaneously being a vehicle for absorptive capacity's indirect effects on it. An exploration innovation strategy does not significantly affect manufacturing flexibility.

This study contributes by combining key strategic features of firms with manufacturing flexibility, while providing new empirical evidence of the mediation of the exploitative innovation competencies in the relation between responsive market orientation and manufacturing flexibility.

The central question of this paper is, “What determines an entrepreneur's effort on different tasks?” The paper aims to address this question.

Propositions about the impact cognitive processes have on entrepreneurial effort across different tasks are developed. These propositions draw on self‐regulatory theory, in particular our understanding of regulatory focus and self‐efficacy.

It is argued that a promotion orientation motivates effort on explorative tasks, and a prevention orientation motivates effort on exploitative tasks. Further, it is proposed that high self‐efficacy motivates effort on action tasks, but high self‐efficacy reduces effort on judgment tasks.

One implication of these propositions for entrepreneurs is to understand self‐regulatory processes and to consciously decide how much effort to put into different tasks, rather than relying on (hidden) preferences. Another implication is for those involved in selecting and developing entrepreneurs. That implication is that entrepreneurs' self‐regulatory processes can inhibit effective effort. These processes can be managed to increase effectiveness.

By introducing task type into the discussion of self‐regulation and entrepreneurial effort, a more fine‐grained understanding of cognitive processes in actual entrepreneurial activities is developed.

In developing countries, numerous small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must innovate because of their scarce resources. This study aims to address the ambidextrous innovation (radical and incremental) associated with firm performance on the SMEs and investigate the moderating effect of environmental factors on the relationship between technological innovation and firm performance.

The authors formulate a path model with the variables to investigate the impacts of the two different innovation strategies and their joint effects on firm performance. Meanwhile, they hypothesized that external environmental factors – market dynamism, labour availability, business cost and competitive hostility – moderate the association of radical and incremental innovations with firm performance. The validity of the proposed model was evaluated using a structural equation modelling approach. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the convergent validity of the constructs.

The authors find that positive association between radical innovation and firm performance; it shows that the radical innovation strategies are positively related to firm performance in SMEs. They also find that the relationship between radical innovation and firm performance has moderated by environmental factors. Second, they find that the incremental innovation strategies have a negative impact to firm performance, and the relationship between incremental innovation and firm performance has no moderated by environmental factors.

This paper suggests that the managers of SMEs must involve in technological innovation, and offer fourth main implications above. In particular, the authors forewarn SMEs’ managers of the necessity of generating that the relationship between radical innovation and firm performance has moderated by environmental factors, there are approaches fourth items around.

This study highlights the crucial importance of the mediating role of environmental dynamism when examining the relationship between ambidexterity (radical and incremental innovations) with firm performance; firms can perceive environmental factors and develop technological innovation strategies to enhance business performance.