This study investigates how organizational ambidexterity manages innovation paradoxes in construction megaprojects. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of 429 survey responses, it identifies distinct pathways leading to exploratory and exploitative innovation. Project complexity, project importance, and learning capability emerge as common triggers of both innovation modes. Exploratory innovation is more likely to rely on cooperative R&D and loose formal control with strong informal control, whereas exploitative innovation is more likely to depend on independent R&D and tight formal control. These findings extend understanding of innovation governance in megaprojects and provide implications for tailoring innovation strategies to different project conditions.
Li et al. (Sat,) studied this question.