Managers used to believe that companies could only be successful if they followed one of two learning activities. The first is called exploitation, which means to take advantage of abilities that the organization already has. The second is called exploration, which means to be adaptive to change and to seek out and discover new methods for the organization. Today’s best managers know that the most successful organizations follow both approaches, which means that they follow an ambidextrous approach to organizational learning.
Source: Raisch, S., & Birkinshaw, J. 2008, June. Organizational ambidexterity: Antecedents, outcomes, and moderators. Journal of Management, 34, 375-409.
