Ambidextrous Leadership as a Catalyst for Innovation Performance: Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Agility in Indonesian Digital SMEs
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study examines the effect of ambidextrous leadership on innovation performance through knowledge sharing and organizational agility among digital small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia. The study is grounded in the Resource-Based View, which positions leadership, knowledge, and agility as strategic organizational capabilities for achieving competitive advantage. A quantitative research design was employed using data collected from 150 owners, managers, supervisors, and employees of Indonesian digital SMEs. Respondents were selected through purposive sampling, and the research variables were measured using a five-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling with SmartPLS 3. The results indicate that ambidextrous leadership has positive and significant effects on knowledge sharing, organizational agility, and innovation performance. Knowledge sharing also positively affects organizational agility and innovation performance, while organizational agility has the strongest direct effect on innovation performance. The structural model explains 46.5% of the variance in knowledge sharing, 61.3% of the variance in organizational agility, and 70.4% of the variance in innovation performance. Mediation analysis demonstrates that knowledge sharing and organizational agility partially mediate the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and innovation performance. These findings show that ambidextrous leaders improve innovation outcomes by balancing exploratory and exploitative leadership behaviors, promoting knowledge exchange, and strengthening organizational responsiveness. The study contributes to leadership and innovation literature by providing empirical evidence from Indonesian digital SMEs. Digital SME leaders are advised to encourage experimentation, maintain execution discipline, establish collaborative knowledge-sharing mechanisms, and develop flexible organizational processes to achieve sustainable innovation performance in dynamic digital markets.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Apprilisda Ranica Putri, Devi Maria Saadah, Iis Nurkamillah, Silven Yonathan, Sucya Sri Yuliana, & Ricky Firmansyah. (2023). Peran E-commerce Sebagai Media Komunikasi Bisnis Dalam Peningkatan Penjualan UMKM Salaut Di Universitas Teknologi Digital. Jurnal Kajian Dan Penelitian Umum, 1(3 SE-Articles), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.47861/jkpu-nalanda.v1i3.181
Arsawan, I. W. E., ssy De Hariyanti, N. K., Atmaja, I. M. A. D. S., Suhartanto, D., & Koval, V. (2022). Developing organizational agility in SMEs: An investigation of innovation’s roles and strategic flexibility. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 8(3), 149.
Ballerini, J., Herhausen, D., & Ferraris, A. (2023). How commitment and platform adoption drive the e-commerce performance of SMEs: A mixed-method inquiry into e-commerce affordances. International Journal of Information Management, 72, 102649. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102649
Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Binsaeed, R. H., Yousaf, Z., Grigorescu, A., Samoila, A., Chitescu, R. I., & Nassani, A. A. (2023). Knowledge Sharing Key Issue for Digital Technology and Artificial Intelligence Adoption. In Systems (Vol. 11, Number 7). https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11070316
Cakmak, Z. (2023). Adapting to Environmental Change: The Importance of Organizational Agility in the Business Landscape. Florya Chronicles of Political Economy, 9, 42–53. https://doi.org/10.17932/IAU.FCPE.2015.010/fcpe_v09i1004
Dethine, B., Enjolras, M., & Monticolo, D. (2020). Digitalization and SMEs’ export management: Impacts on resources and capabilities. In … Innovation Management Review. timreview.ca.
Diugwu, I. (2011). Knowledge acquisition and sharing: a sustainable source of competitive advantage in supply chains. Proceedings of the International Conference on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management & Organizational Learning, 157–163.
Elidemir, S. N., Ozturen, A., & Bayighomog, S. W. (2020). Innovative behaviors, employee creativity, and sustainable competitive advantage: A moderated mediation. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/SU12083295
Febrina, A. T., Maulana, A., & Rosa, A. (2025). The Effect of Price and Product Quality on Purchase Decisions with Brand Image as an Intervening Variable in The Lahat Coffee Monologue Product. Journal Research of Social Science, Economics, and Management, 4(10), 1375–1392. https://doi.org/10.59141/jrssem.v4i10.849
Gao, J., Xu, N., & Zhou, J. (2023). Does Digital Transformation Contribute to Corporate Carbon Emissions Reduction? Empirical Evidence from China. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(18), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813414
GHOFAR, A. L., PUTRA, R. N. P., & HAMIDAH, S. N. (2022). Implementation Of Gateway Technology (Go-Pay) In Increasing Transaction Efficiency In MSMEs Dapur Restu. Journal of Information Systems, Digitization and Business, 1(1), 08–14. https://doi.org/10.38142/jisdb.v1i1.651
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Hamdi, M., Indarti, N., Manik, H. F. G. G., & Lukito-Budi, A. S. (2022). Monkey see, monkey do? Examining the effect of entrepreneurial orientation and knowledge sharing on new venture creation for Gen Y and Gen Z. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 15(4), 786–807. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-08-2021-0302
Harwiki, W., & Malet, C. (2020). Quintuple helix and innovation on performance of SMEs within ability of SMEs as a mediator variable: A comparative study of creative industry in Indonesia and Spain. Management Science Letters, 10(6), 1389–1400. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2019.11.018
Kwarteng, M. A., Ntsiful, A., Diego, L. F. P., & Novák, P. (2023). Extending UTAUT with competitive pressure for SMEs digitalization adoption in two European nations: a multi-group analysis. Aslib Journal of Information Management, ahead-of-p(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-11-2022-0482
Latifah, S. N., Wijayanti, W., & Utami, E. M. (2021). The Effect of the Application of Total Quality Management, Supply Chain Management, and Entrepreneurship Orientation on Operational Performance. Journal of Digital Marketing and Halal Industry, 3(1), 63–72. https://doi.org/10.21580/jdmhi.2021.3.1.7441
Liu, Y., & Wang, M. (2022). Entrepreneurial orientation, new product development and firm performance: the moderating role of legitimacy in Chinese high-tech SMEs. European Journal of Innovation Management, 25(1), 130–149. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-05-2020-0204
Majoni, T., Zvirikuzhe, C., & Mashiri, B. G. (2022). Market Orientation in MSME: A Qualitative Case Study of MSME in Zimbabwe.
Malele, V. (2022). the Role of Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights in Achieving Sustainable Development Through the Informal Sector. ICTACT Journal on Management Studies, 08(03), 1599–1604. https://doi.org/10.21917/ijms.2022.0235
Marhoon, R. H. H., & Omar, K. M. (2024). The Role of Sustainable Human Resource Management in Enhancing Organizational Agility (Articles Review). 2024 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Applications (DASA), 1–8.
Mendel, R. (2003). “ A Broad and Ennobling Spirit”: Workers and Their Unions in Late Gilded Age New York and Brooklyn, 1886-1898. books.google.com.
Nguyen, T. P. T., Huang, F., & Tian, X. (2023). Intellectual property protection need as a driver for open innovation: Empirical evidence from Vietnam. Technovation, 123, 102714. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2023.102714
Noorali, M., & Gilaninia, S. (2017). The Role of Small and Medium - Sized Enterprises in Development. Nigerian Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 4(4), 36–40. https://doi.org/10.12816/0040342
Oktavinus, O., Zaid, S., & Yusuf, H. (2020). Pengaruh Orientasi Pasar Dan Inovasi Produk Terhadap Keunggulan Bersaing Dan Kinerja Pemasaran Pengolahan Rumput Laut Di Wakatobi. Jurnal Ilmu Manajemen Universitas Tadulako (JIMUT), 5(2), 211–227. https://doi.org/10.22487/jimut.v5i2.153
Oktrivina, A., & Effendi, S. (2025). How and when circular economy practices drive financial performance: The role of organizational agility, operational efficiency, and digital technology adoption. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 11(3), 100613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2025.100613
Reim, W., Yli-Viitala, P., Arrasvuori, J., & Parida, V. (2022). Tackling business model challenges in SME internationalization through digitalization. Journal of Innovation & …, 7(3), 100199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2022.100199
Rozak, H. A., Adhiatma, A., Fachrunnisa, O., & Rahayu, T. (2021). Social media engagement, organizational agility and digitalization strategic plan to improve SMEs’ performance. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 70(11), 3766–3775. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2021.3085977
Sajuyigbe, A. S., Anthony Abiodun, E., Ayeni, A., & Obi, N. J. (2023). The Employee Relationship Management and Organizational Agility: Mediating Role of Employee Empowerment in Consumer Goods Sector. Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business, 8(2), 50–76. https://doi.org/10.1344/jesb2023.8.2.36938
Saputra, N., Sasanti, N., Alamsjah, F., & Sadeli, F. (2021). Strategic role of digital capability on business agility during COVID-19 era. Procedia Computer Science, 197((2022)), 326–335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2021.12.147
Schildt, H., Lahdenranta, K., Demir, R., & Turunen, T. (2023). Waking up to digital innovation: how organisational secrecy hampers top management focus on strategic renewal. In Innovation. Taylor &Francis. https://doi.org/10.1080/14479338.2022.2162530
Schneider, M. (2018). Digitalization of production, human capital, and organizational capital. The Impact of Digitalization in the Workplace, 39–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63257-5_4
Siagian, I., Ruslan, D., & Yuliaty, T. (2023). Analysis of Factors Affecting the Income of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Culinary Sector in Tebing Tinggi City. International Journal of Research and Review, 10(7), 549–571. https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20230767
Surucu-Balci, E., & Berberoglu, B. (2022). Wasted pumpkins: a real Halloween horror story. British Food Journal, 124(12), 4718–4735. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-07-2021-0823
Wanambisi, A. N. (2022). Entrepreneurial Networking and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya. ir.jkuat.ac.ke.
Wang, Y., & Poutziouris, P. (2010). Leadership styles, management systems and growth: Empirical evidence from UK owner-managed SMEs. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 18(03), 331–354. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218495810000604
Wernerfelt, B. (1984). A resource‐based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5(2), 171–180.
Widjajanti, K., & Sugiyanto, E. K. (2018). Social capital and innovation capabilities: Strategic resource to improve entrepreneurial and performance of SMEs creative industry. In Proceedings of the 1st …. academia.edu.
Yildiz, T., & Aykanat, Z. (2021). The mediating role of organizational innovation on the impact of strategic agility on firm performance. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 17(4), 765–786. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-06-2020-0070
Zhao, F., Hu, W., Ahmed, F., & Huang, H. (2022). Impact of ambidextrous human resource practices on employee innovation performance: the roles of inclusive leadership and psychological safety. European Journal of Innovation Management, 26(5), 1444–1470. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-04-2021-0226