Towards Achieving Ambidexterity: An Exploratory Study of Australian CIOs

• Main Authors: Kalgovas, Bradley (Author), Van Toorn, Christine (Author), Conboy, Kieran (Author)
• Format: Others
• Published: ACIS, 2014-12-04T01:19:56Z.
• Subjects: Conference Contribution
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 This Research-in-Progress paper explores the recommendations which enable the CIO to overcome the barriers to creating an Ambidextrous IS Function; one which is able to balance exploratory activities (involving the use of emerging technologies) and exploitative activities (including the operation of traditional systems) to support the organization in achieving strategic advantage. The extant literature identifies that the CIO experiences significant challenges in creating an Ambidextrous IS Function which supports the organization in achieving strategic advantage; providing significant impetus for this study which utilizes the theory of Ambidexterity to identify the recommendations to overcome the barriers to creating an Ambidextrous IS Function. The analysis of the data from semi-structured interviews with 10 Australian CIOs identifies 7 recommendations to overcome the 8 barriers to the CIO creating an Ambidextrous IS Function which is able to support the organization in achieving strategic advantage.