Assessing ambidextrous leadership in organizations: review and future scope for research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore ambidextrous leadership, a complex and multifaceted domain within leadership studies. This study examines the concept of ‘ambidextrous leadership’ from its inception, employing bibliometric analysis and the Theory–Context–Characteristics–Methods (TCCM) framework to address critical research questions and identify pathways for future investigation in leadership research. Design/methodology/approach To accomplish this objective, the authors conduct a bibliometric analysis and TCCM analysis of ambidextrous leadership, using data sourced from Scopus, the most extensive scientific database for review purposes. By examining 99 documents (spanning from 2007 through September 2023) related to ambidextrous leadership research from Scopus, this paper unveils insights into the performance analysis (such as publication year, noteworthy articles, prominent journals, influential authors and geographic distribution) and the evolution of scientific exploration (including key topics and themes) within the field of ambidextrous leadership over two decades. The investigation used various science mapping tools like keyword analysis, three-field plots, bibliographic coupling, co-occurrence network analysis and thematic mapping analysis. To evaluate the Bibliometric Coupling and Co-occurrence Network, a VOS viewer was used. TCCM analysis guides the future directions of research. Findings The bibliometric analysis reveals the publication trends, most influential authors, articles, journals, countries and important keywords. Subsequently, it presents the network connections in the field of ambidextrous leadership. TCCM analysis recognized emerging research diversifications in the literature on ambidextrous leadership. Research limitations/implications A single database, i.e. Scopus, was used to extract the data which poses a limitation for the current study. This study provides insights to the researchers and practitioners on a comprehensive understanding of the emerging concept of “ambidextrous leadership,” an overview of the publication trends and emerging research themes identified in the clusters, and suggests possible directions for further study using TCCM analysis. Originality/value This study provides the intellectual structure of ambidextrous leadership literature and its advancement over the years using bibliometric analysis and TCCM analysis.