In this study, we examine how team leaders’ ambidextrous behaviour and a supportive organisational culture influence team innovation in a humanitarian context, focussing on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). We analyse an ambidextrous leadership approach alongside organisational culture, and we consider how various diversity dimensions, such as the team’s functional mix, age range, gender balance, educational background, and ethnic makeup, affect innovation within teams. A quantitative approach was employed: 156 ICRC employees across five regions (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Near and Middle East) were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The results show that ambidextrous leadership by team leaders and a culture that supports innovation each have a direct positive impact on team innovation. Among the diversity factors, age and gender emerged as the strongest moderators: greater diversity in team members’ ages and genders amplified the positive effect of ambidextrous leadership on innovation. In addition, age, gender, and ethnic diversity interacted with organisational culture to further improve innovation outcomes under a supportive culture. Based on these findings, we recommend that humanitarian organisations cultivate a culture that encourages innovation, adopt ambidextrous leadership practices, and actively promote team diversity, especially in terms of age and gender, to boost innovative performance.
Abdelrahman Zuraik (Sun,) studied this question.