Towards 'open' IS managers: An exploration of individual-level connectedness, ambidexterity, and performance

This paper examines the individual IS manager's ability to exploit current IT capabilities and explore new technology innovations. It extends the concept of ambidexterity, which is often studied at the firm or business unit level, to the individual level, and draws from open innovation theory to examine how the ability of an individual IS manager to explore and exploit is associated with their degree of external and internal connectedness. The research model is tested through a survey of 67 IS managers from a large financial services company. The results show that external connectedness is strongly and positively associated with an IS manager's ability to innovate while internal connectedness is negatively associated with exploration. In addition, the degree to which individual IS managers simultaneously engage in exploration and exploitation (i.e. ambidexterity) is found to be positively associated with individual performance.