The Ambidextrous Organization – Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts, structures, and case examples from the Harvard Business Review article on ambidextrous organizations.

Ambidextrous Organization

A company that structurally separates exploratory and exploitative units while tightly integrating them at the senior-executive level to pursue both radical innovation and core-business efficiency.

Incremental Innovation

Small, continuous improvements to an existing product, service, or process.

Architectural Innovation

Applying new technology or processes to fundamentally change a component or element of a business without altering its core concept.

Discontinuous (Breakthrough) Innovation

A radical advance that can redefine industry competition and potentially render existing offerings obsolete.

Functional Design (for innovation)

Placing breakthrough projects inside the traditional functional hierarchy of the core business.

Cross-Functional Team

A group drawn from multiple functions that pursues innovation within the company but outside normal reporting lines.

Network Strategy

USA Today’s plan to share news content seamlessly across print, web, and television platforms.

Healthy Eyes for Life

Ciba Vision’s unifying vision statement aligning both traditional and breakthrough eye-care initiatives.

Ambidextrous Leadership

Managerial capability to balance cost-driven efficiency with entrepreneurial exploration and to make tough trade-offs between them.