A model for gaining competitive advantage in Iranian export companies based on organizational ambidexterity and absorptive capacity

Despite the growing importance of the role of knowledge in promoting innovation performance and maintaining competitive advantage in a highly competitive global environment, organizations face many difficulties in utilizing and developing the external knowledge flow infrastructure. Promoting organizational learning based on absorptive capacity theory and creating exploration and exploitation structures based on organizational ambidexterity theory can be an explanation to help organizations to solve these problems. This study aims to explain the effect of knowledge absorptive capacity in achieving competitive advantage and the mediating role of organizational ambidexterity in a study in export companies.

The initial model was extracted from the literature and in the qualitative stage through in-depth interviews with experts, the final conceptual model was drawn. The research questionnaire, after confirming its reliability and validity, was distributed among managers and experts of Iranian export companies by random sampling method. The statistical population of the research were 570 top Iranian export companies. In the qualitative section, sampling was performed by theoretical sampling method and 11 managers of companies with more than 5 and 10 years of experience were selected. The field of activity of selected companies included: gas and petrochemical, steel, auto parts, pipes and fittings and food.

In the quantitative section, a sample of 78 companies was selected with the help of G*Power software. Qualitative data analysis was performed by ATLAS.ti and quantitative data with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on Partial Least Squares (PLS). The results show that the absorptive capacity does not have a significant effect on the competitive advantage. Nevertheless, the effect of this variable on organizational ambidexterity and the effect of organizational ambidexterity on competitive advantage is significant. Therefore, it can be said that organizational ambidexterity has been a perfect mediator in the relationship between absorptive capacity and competitive advantage.

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The findings of this study provide a path for export companies in order to gain a competitive advantage. Companies can facilitate the flow of external knowledge into the organization by strengthening the ambidexterious organizational structures, creating learning environments and strengthening the capacity to absorb knowledge.