Ambidestria organizacional em pequenas e médias indústrias familiares: diretrizes para alcançar o equilíbrio entre exploitation e exploration

Abstract

Innovation is a key factor for the survival and competitiveness of family-owned industrial firms, particularly within the context of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which face resource constraints, lean structures, and high managerial complexity. These firms constantly grapple with the challenge of balancing the pursuit of innovation with the need to maintain operational efficiency, generating tensions that arise from choices between ensuring present-day productivity and investing in future innovation, between maintaining stability and seeking adaptability, and between preserving the known and exploring the new. Organizational ambidexterity - understood as the ability to balance exploration (innovation and experimentation) and exploitation (efficiency and refinement of existing capabilities) - emerges as a promising approach to address these tensions. However, achieving this balance is challenging and involves risks such as knowledge loss, internal conflicts, and resistance to change. This study aims to propose practical guidelines to help family-owned industrial SMEs manage these tensions effectively. A qualitative multiple-case study was conducted, involving in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. The findings reveal hybrid evidence of contextual, structural, and leadership-based ambidexterity, as well as recurring tensions related to succession, multifunctionality, risk management, and organizational culture. The research delivers strategic and operational guidelines to support the development of more balanced, adaptable, and sustainable management practices.