ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to introduce the notion of ambidextrous capability. Many established firms have failed to adapt to various types of innovations, such as radical competence-destroying innovations (Tushman and Anderson, 1986), architectural innovations (Henderson and Clark, 1990), and disruptive innovations (Christensen, 1997). Moreover, many small- and medium-sized enterprises, as newcomers, have defeated large incumbents via major innovations. Even though large incumbents have plenty of resources, it is not very easy to adapt to major innovations. In the case of disruptive innovations from lower-end markets in particular, existing large firms usually fail to pay sufficient attention to such innovations. This is because new products launched in such lower-end markets are inferior to the existing firms’ products, are initially not well-developed, and are too small in scale to be worthwhile for the large incumbents to enter (Christensen, 1997). In order to adapt to the innovations coming from lower-end markets, established large firms targeting higher-end markets must develop the ability to compete fully with disruptive innovators in lower-end markets.
