International Ambidexterity: An Extant Challenge for Business Professors?

Abstract

Business professors today face multiple challenges and trade-offs which often seem irreconcilable. For instance, they need to balance rigor and relevance in academic research, manage the production and commercialization of outputs, and develop managerial astuteness while training themselves in sophisticated research skills. Doing all of this at the same time has long been considered difficult, if not impossible. Thus, typical academic careers follow the principle of ‘temporal ambidexterity’ where specific sets of tasks are followed by others. But this pattern often falls short in capturing the full potential of academics, and it is suggested that professors balance conflicting requirements and challenge the presumed incompatibility of divergent tasks. The notion of ‘international ambidexterity’ is proposed to engage professors in multi-cultural context shifting and frame-breaking exercises that potentially disrupt dominant mindsets and better prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of their profession.