Measuring the Level of Organisational Ambidexterity of Municipal Administrations

The research on organisational ambidexterity, understood as an ability to effectively solve current problems while ensuring long-term strategic development, is relatively recent. Very limited number of studies focus on ambidexterity in public organisations, or if any, it is considered primarily as an outcome rather than a strategy for achieving long-term success. This study aims to assess the organisational ambidexterity of a group of municipalities in two ways: by answering questions posed to municipal representatives and by calculating financial indicators that provide evidence of local governments’ preferences for funding current needs and investments for the future. The results were tested for statistically significant difference using the t-test. It is concluded that it is evident from their responses that municipal officials understand the need to achieve organisational ambidexterity, but the data from the analysis of the financial indicators of the studied municipalities clearly indicate a preference for spending on current needs over spending on investment and development.