IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v182y2024ics0148296324003230.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of digital leadership on hidden champions’ competitive advantage: A moderated mediation model of ambidextrous innovation and value co-creation

Author

Listed:
  • Cai, Qihai
  • Wu, Jiahua
  • Wu, Ting
  • Chang, Po-Chien
  • Mardani, Abbas

Abstract

Existing literature provides consistent evidence on the relationship between digital leadership and competitive advantage, yet the specific mechanisms remain inconclusive. Building on a dataset of 434 managers in 139 hidden champion enterprises in China, this study examines how and when digital leadership influences hidden champions’ competitive advantage. Research findings show that digital leadership propels competitive advantage. Ambidextrous innovation mediates the relationship between digital leadership and competitive advantage. Value co-creation positively enhances explorative innovation’s influence on competitive advantage and the indirect effect between digital leadership and competitive advantage via explorative innovation, while simultaneously weakening the impact of exploitative innovation on competitive advantage and the indirect effect between digital leadership and competitive advantage via exploitative innovation. Results provide practical implications for enterprises to enhance competitive advantages in the changing environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Cai, Qihai & Wu, Jiahua & Wu, Ting & Chang, Po-Chien & Mardani, Abbas, 2024. "The impact of digital leadership on hidden champions’ competitive advantage: A moderated mediation model of ambidextrous innovation and value co-creation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:182:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324003230
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114819
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296324003230
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114819?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Justin J. P. Jansen & Frans A. J. Van Den Bosch & Henk W. Volberda, 2006. "Exploratory Innovation, Exploitative Innovation, and Performance: Effects of Organizational Antecedents and Environmental Moderators," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(11), pages 1661-1674, November.
    2. Hubert Gatignon & Michael L. Tushman & Wendy Smith & Philip Anderson, 2002. "A Structural Approach to Assessing Innovation: Construct Development of Innovation Locus, Type, and Characteristics," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(9), pages 1103-1122, September.
    3. Michael Lubatkin & Zeki Simsek & Yan Ling & John F. Veiga, 2006. "Ambidexterity and Performance in Small-to Medium-Sized Firms : The Pivotal Role of Top Management Team Behavioral Integration," Post-Print hal-02311781, HAL.
    4. Sebastian Raisch & Julian Birkinshaw & Gilbert Probst & Michael L. Tushman, 2009. "Organizational Ambidexterity: Balancing Exploitation and Exploration for Sustained Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 685-695, August.
    5. Peter Baloh, 2013. "Innovation Behaviour of Hidden Champions," Springer Books, in: Peter McKiernan & Danica Purg (ed.), Hidden Champions in CEE and Turkey, edition 127, pages 53-67, Springer.
    6. Zi-Lin He & Poh-Kam Wong, 2004. "Exploration vs. Exploitation: An Empirical Test of the Ambidexterity Hypothesis," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(4), pages 481-494, August.
    7. Julian Schenkenhofer, 2022. "Hidden champions: a review of the literature & future research avenues," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(2), pages 417-482, June.
    8. Siaw, Christopher Agyapong & Sarpong, David, 2021. "Dynamic exchange capabilities for value co-creation in ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 493-506.
    9. Hermann Simon, 2022. "Hidden Champions in the Chinese Century," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-92597-0, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andreea N. Kiss & Dirk Libaers & Pamela S. Barr & Tang Wang & Miles A. Zachary, 2020. "CEO cognitive flexibility, information search, and organizational ambidexterity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(12), pages 2200-2233, December.
    2. José Andrade & Mário Franco & Luis Mendes, 2021. "Technological capacity and organisational ambidexterity: the moderating role of environmental dynamism on Portuguese technological SMEs," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(7), pages 2111-2136, October.
    3. Karl Aschenbrücker & Tobias Kretschmer, 2022. "Performance-based incentives and innovative activity in small firms: evidence from German manufacturing," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 11(2), pages 47-64, June.
    4. Swarup Kumar Dutta, 2013. "Ambidexterity as a Mediating Variable in the Relationship between Dynamism in the Environment, Organizational Context and Strategic Renewal," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 2(1), pages 27-41, June.
    5. Katou, Anastasia A. & Budhwar, Pawan S. & Patel, Charmi, 2021. "A trilogy of organizational ambidexterity: Leader’s social intelligence, employee work engagement and environmental changes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 688-700.
    6. Wang, Chao-Hung & Hsu, Li-Chang, 2014. "Building exploration and exploitation in the high-tech industry: The role of relationship learning," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 331-340.
    7. Marina Estrada-Cruz & Noelia Rodriguez-Hernández & Antonio J. Verdú-Jover & Jose Maria Gómez-Gras, 2022. "The effect of competitive intensity on the relationship between strategic entrepreneurship and organizational results," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 1-24, March.
    8. Peixu He & Yana Pei & Chunpei Lin & Di Ye, 2021. "Ambidextrous Marketing Capabilities, Exploratory and Exploitative Market-Based Innovation, and Innovation Performance: An Empirical Study on China’s Manufacturing Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-21, January.
    9. Shuwaikh, Fatima & Brintte, Souad & Khemiri, Sabrina, 2022. "The impact of dynamic ambidexterity on the performance of organizations: Evidence from corporate venture capital investing in North America," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 991-1009.
    10. Jürgen Weibler & Tobias Keller, 2011. "Ambidextrie in Abhängigkeit von Führungsverantwortung und Marktwahrnehmung: Eine empirische Analyse des individuellen Arbeitsverhaltens in Unternehmen," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 155-188, March.
    11. Marina Estrada-Cruz & Noelia Rodriguez-Hernández & Antonio J. Verdú-Jover & Jose Maria Gómez-Gras, 0. "The effect of competitive intensity on the relationship between strategic entrepreneurship and organizational results," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-24.
    12. Kammerlander, Nadine & Burger, Dominik & Fust, Alexander & Fueglistaller, Urs, 2015. "Exploration and exploitation in established small and medium-sized enterprises: The effect of CEOs' regulatory focus," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 582-602.
    13. Veider, Viktoria & Matzler, Kurt, 2016. "The ability and willingness of family-controlled firms to arrive at organizational ambidexterity," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 105-116.
    14. Galina Shirokova & Liudmila Ivvonen & Elena Gafforova, 2019. "Strategic Entrepreneurship in Russia during Economic Crisis," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 13(3), pages 62-76.
    15. Belderbos, Rene & Faems, Dries & Leten, Bart & Van Looy, Bart, 2009. "Technological activities and their impact on the financial performance of the firm: Exploitation and exploration within and between firms," MERIT Working Papers 2009-067, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    16. Heinrichs, Simon & Walter, Sascha, 2013. "Don’t Step Into Your Parent’s Shoes – How Exploitation and Exploration Affect Spin-out Growth," EconStor Preprints 68591, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    17. Olga Kassotaki, 2022. "Review of Organizational Ambidexterity Research," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    18. Bonesso, Sara & Gerli, Fabrizio & Scapolan, Annachiara, 2014. "The individual side of ambidexterity: Do individuals’ perceptions match actual behaviors in reconciling the exploration and exploitation trade-off?," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 392-405.
    19. Danny Soetanto & Sarah L. Jack, 2018. "Slack resources, exploratory and exploitative innovation and the performance of small technology-based firms at incubators," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(5), pages 1213-1231, October.
    20. Choo Yeon Kim & Myung Sub Lim & Jae Wook Yoo, 2019. "Ambidexterity in External Knowledge Search Strategies and Innovation Performance: Mediating Role of Balanced Innovation and Moderating Role of Absorptive Capacity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-23, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:182:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324003230. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.