Exploration and exploitation in healthcare : drivers for ambidexterity

The aim of the study is to understand how exploration, exploitation and ambidexterity can be improved in healthcare context. In fact, the research would explain why there is a general Italian delay in answer actively to the medical field changes, and which drivers should be implemented to pave the way for a general improvement in the healthcare sector. One of the main problems are the lack of resources that should be controlled efficiently in order to reduce costs. At the same time, Italian regions may take under control the quality of caring and hence search for continuous novelty. Based on existing literature, we develop and empirically test to understand the effect of different drivers, as leadership style, organization support, creativity, and environmental dynamism on exploration, exploitation and then ambidexterity, providing three frameworks. A survey was carried out among physicians of Italian hospitals’ wards during October and November 2015, collecting answers from 80 different units. Our results show that opening leadership positively affects exploration as well closing leadership positively affects exploitation, but both the behaviors must exist to reach ambidexterity. In addition, creativity is necessary to achieve exploration, exploitation and hence ambidexterity, while the role of environmental dynamism is relevant only for the explorative dimension. We try to explain why some variables, as organizational support and the moderator effect of the environmental dynamism, do not affect physicians’ behaviors, and we give managerial implications that should be implemented operatively. The study is incremental comparing to the existing research on the topic in two ways. First, it provides an incremental measure of ambidexterity, considering both qualitative and quantitative dimensions. Second, it gives an empirical support on the topic, applying the theme of ambidexterity to the healthcare field.