The interplay between exploration and exploitation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gupta, Anil K.; Smith, Ken G.; Shalley, Christina E.
• 署名单位: University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; University System of Georgia; Georgia Institute of Technology
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4273
• DOI: 10.5465/20159793
• 发表日期: 2006
• 页码: 693-706
• 关键词: innovation; ORGANIZATIONS; COMPLEMENTARY; strategy; search; old

摘要

Exploration and exploitation have emerged as the twin concepts underpinning organizational adaptation research, yet some central issues related to them remain ambiguous. We address four related questions here: What do exploration and exploitation mean? Are they two ends of a continuum or orthogonal to each other? How should organizations achieve balance between exploration and exploitation-via ambidexterity or punctuated equilibrium? Finally, must all organizations strive for a balance, or is specialization in exploitation or exploration sometimes sufficient for long-run success? We summarize the contributions of the work in this special research forum and highlight important directions for future research.