International ambidexterity and innovation performance of EMNEs: the moderating role of dynamic–static resource interaction

Purpose Although prior research has integrated the ambidexterity perspective into international business studies and advocates for emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) to pursue both exploration and exploitation in foreign markets, the exact relationship between international ambidexterity and innovation performance remains unclear. This study aims to address this gap by distinguishing between its balanced and combined dimensions and examining their respective effects on innovation performance. Guided by an integrated framework of organizational learning theory and the resource-based view (RBV), the authors further investigate how dynamic–static resource interaction – that is, the interaction between the dynamic strategic resource of international ambidexterity and two relatively static organizational resources, government subsidies and slack resources – shapes these effects. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 136 manufacturing enterprises in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, covering the period from 2013 to 2022. The data were analyzed to develop a conceptual model and test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results show that the combination of exploratory internationalization and exploitative internationalization can improve EMNEs’ innovation performance, but the balanced dimension negatively affects innovation performance. Government subsidies, as a vital external resource, facilitate the successful implementation of ambidextrous internationalization strategies. Conversely, slack resources will reduce the effectiveness of the ambidextrous internationalization strategy and weaken the innovation performance. Moreover, the ambidexterity–innovation link varies across sub-industries, being significant in technology-intensive and labor-intensive sectors but insignificant in capital-intensive sectors. Originality/value This study integrates organizational learning and RBV to examine how the interaction between dynamic and static resources shapes the realization of international ambidexterity and, in turn, influences innovation performance. In doing so, it enriches research on international ambidexterity in EMNEs and provides empirical evidence for the relationship between international ambidexterity and innovation performance. At the same time, it contributes to the literature on RBV, organizational learning theory and their integration.