Ambidexterity has been gaining attention among supply chain scholars due
to its potential for overcoming trade-offs. Associated with these
complexities is the choice of an appropriate governance mechanism in
buyersupplier relationships, which can include relational and
contractual approaches. Extending ambidexterity research to the supply
chain management domain, we focus in the present study on ambidextrous
governance, which we define as the simultaneous pursuit of both
relational and contractual governance elements. We investigate the
effect of ambidextrous governance on innovation and cost performance. In
addition, as this relationship is highly dependent on the ambidexterity
that may be present on the firm level, we theorize about the moderating
effect of organizational ambidexterity. We further consider external
contextual factors as influencing the ability of ambidextrous governance
to effectuate performance, recognizing that the former may not be as
effective under conditions of greater demand uncertainty and product
complexity. We delineate our hypotheses based on extensions of
complementarity theory, and test them, taking a buyer's perspective,
with data collected in a multirespondent survey of manufacturing firms.
Our results demonstrate the positive relationship between ambidextrous
governance and both innovation and cost performance, and highlight the
critical role of organizational ambidexterity as an enabler for
innovation performance. We furthermore detect mixed effects for the
contextual variables considered-demand uncertainty and product
complexity-as moderators, emphasizing that the impact of ambidextrous
governance on performance is subject to dynamics that are more complex
than originally perceived. With our investigation, we extend
ambidexterity research to the supply chain management domain and offer
important implications for research and practice. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]