Paradox or Synergy Between Digital Capability and Corporate Social Responsibility to Achieve Ambidextrous Innovation in Chinese Firms

This paper provides a new and significant conceptual framework to enhance understanding of how digital capability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) complement each other in achieving the trade-off of ambidextrous innovation. Building on resource orchestration theory, we propose that opportunity recognition can serve as a mediating bridge to convey the positive impact of digital capability on ambidextrous innovation. Furthermore, these effects are likely to be especially pronounced among enterprises with a higher level of CSR implementation according to the reciprocity principle of social capital theory. We conducted a questionnaire-based survey among executives from 225 non-listed companies and a longitudinal panel study of 1897 listed companies from 2009 to 2022. The results support our hypotheses, showing that CSR implementation strengthens the active indirect effect of digital capability on ambidextrous innovation through accurate opportunity recognition. This paper enriches the research on the positive consequences of digital capabilities, introduces opportunity recognition into resource orchestration theory from the perspective of intangible assets, verifies the mediating role of opportunity recognition between digital capabilities and ambidextrous innovation, and sheds light on how an organization’s CSR strategy and digital capabilities are complementary. CSR can catalyze the positive impact of an enterprise’s digital capability on opportunity recognition and ambidextrous innovation. We advise enterprises on sustainable development, emphasizing the importance of fulfilling their CSR strategies while enhancing their digital capabilities.