Multifaceted and even contradictory? Impulses to push efficiency and innovativeness and the dynamic role of ambiguity in context of a German university

Organizations have to find ideal combinations of efficient and innovative practices to manage the dynamic in changing contexts. However, we know less so far about managing the occurring dynamics of exploration–exploitation change and how they can be influenced. This study develops a novel dynamic and multi-level view on organizational ambidexterity (OA; i.e. the capacity to explore and exploit simultaneously). This view builds upon a processual constructivist perspective and the context of strategic change in a German Multi-campus university. In a longitudinal in-depth case study, organizational dynamics are investigated at multiple levels and sites. The results show that diverse—and somehow contradictory—impulses are operating on multiple levels and these are interpreted in different ways, leading to several organizational responses. The findings reveal the role of ambiguity, expressed along the categories of “identity conflicts”, “role confusion” and “sensegiving void”, in processing these impulses on multiple levels. This research contributes to the emerging discourse on dynamic ambidexterity by providing implications for managers seeking to manage the dynamics of ambidexterity change in public service sector.