The Role of Strategic Orientations in the Relationship Between Adaptive Marketing Capabilities and Ambidexterity in Digital Services Firms: The Case of a Highly Competitive Digital Economy

As the digital economy progresses aggressively in the UAE, the ways in which different players in the economy interact with each other are changing. Therefore, strategic orientations that enable successful interactions have become a necessity. This study aims to investigate the impact of adaptive marketing capability on market ambidexterity in the presence of strategic orientations. It examines the outside-in and inside-out strategies that form the dynamic capabilities of firms. Furthermore, this study identifies how strategic orientations enable higher firm ambidexterity in highly competitive digital business environments as in the case of the UAE. A quantitative deductive approach using a survey is followed in order to test the proposed hypotheses. The data were collected from senior management-level individuals in 75 firms with the careful selection of demographics. Our study demonstrates a strong correlation between adaptive marketing capability and market ambidexterity. Furthermore, strategic orientations, which are characterised by a culture of proactiveness, responsiveness, and innovativeness, are found to positively mediate the relationship between adaptive marketing capability and market ambidexterity. Additionally, there exists a positive and direct relationship between adaptive marketing capability and market ambidexterity. Finally, this study provides important contributions regarding new forms of dynamic capabilities, such as adaptive marketing capability and market ambidexterity, under the specific intervention of strategic orientations, thus enhancing the body of knowledge on ambidexterity and dynamic capability, which is vital in the digital era. It also presents an enhanced empirical model reflecting the relationships between adaptive marketing capabilities, strategic orientations, and market ambidexterity from both the inside-out and outside-in perspectives.