The moderating role of technological turbulence on entrepreneurial orientation and organisational ambidexterity

Abstract

The failure rate of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa is alarming. Added to tough economic conditions in the country, and the lacking financial and management skills among many of these entrepreneurs, the unprecedented rate of technological changes alters the entrepreneurial landscape. Therefore, the notion of entrepreneurial orientation has become fundamental in developing entrepreneurial thinking and making strategic choices with the aim of exploring and exploiting new opportunities in a changing context. Yet, this process takes place in a state of organisational ambidexterity. Therefore, this study sought to determine whether entrepreneurial orientation is a precursor of organisational ambidexterity. Technological turbulence was introduced in the study to examine whether it has a moderating effect on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and organisational ambidexterity in a sample of 166 SMMEs. This descriptor-explanatory quantitative study used the confirmatory factor analysis and correlation matrix to examine the relationship between constructs. The study found a strong correlation between entrepreneurial orientation and organisational ambidexterity. However, technological turbulence had no moderating effect on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and organisational ambidexterity. Therefore, the findings suggest that while SMMEs are ambidextrous organisations, the lack of a positive moderating role by technological turbulence suggests that this could be one of the many contributing factors that lead to the high failure rate of SMMEs.