Entrepreneurial gendered ambidexterity in Belarusian SMEs

Abstract

Certain principles and prevailing decision-making logics strongly influence entrepreneurial, innovative, and managerial actions. Effectual and causal reasonings (entrepreneurial ambidexterity) provided essential insights into entrepreneurial strategies and innovation outcomes. However, little is known about the reasonings that dominate entrepreneurial behaviors and innovative decision-making processes (innovative ambidexterity) inside organizations characterized by a diversified workforce (managerial ambidexterity). This study investigates the intersections between causal-effectual reasoning (entrepreneurial tensions) adopted during exploration-exploitation innovation processes (innovation tensions), gendered decision-making style (managerial tensions), and the achievement of radical/incremental innovation outcomes within an organization. A proposed conceptual model was tested using the data from 407 Belarusian small-medium-sized companies (SMEs). Our results highlight the positive impact of effectual entrepreneurial reasonings on innovation outcomes. Our study especially contributes to the academic debate about why women are more prone to hybrid causal-effectual decision-making strategies than men. A provocative discussion and implications have emerged from the results of this study regarding the crucial role of gendered managerial tensions within organizations that are looking to become more ambidextrous (entrepreneurial and innovative) to achieve the highest indicators of performance