Organizational ambidexterity as a strategic decision: its relationship with strategic decision speed and the moderating role of CEO cognition and environmental dynamism under the global pandemic

The current study examines organizational ambidexterity as a strategic decision under the COVID-19 pandemic, incorporating ambidexterity in the process of decision making. Based on a survey on 144 organizational decision makers (CEOs) in Greece during the COVID-19 global pandemic crisis, the study examines how organizational ambidexterity is affected by fast decision making and the contingencies that affect this relationship, as well as whether being ambidextrous is beneficial for organizations under a global pandemic. The effects of CEOs’ cognitive characteristics and of environmental dynamism are examined as moderating factors in the newly established relationship between strategic decision speed and organizational ambidexterity. This research connects the literatures on strategic decision speed and organizational ambidexterity, by bridging micro and macro perspectives of strategic management. Findings suggest that reaching strategic decisions quickly is associated with achieving organizational ambidexterity, which in turn is associated with superior performance. Further, decision makers’ cognition and environmental dynamism moderate the relationship between strategic decision speed and achieving ambidexterity. Overall, this study sheds light on strategic management in dynamic environments, focusing on the decision-making process concerning organizational ambidexterity.