New venture ambidexterity in emerging markets: The case of crowdfunding in India

Abstract

Extant literature on ambidexterity has focused primarily on established firms in existing markets. New ventures operate in a resource-constrained environment. Further, if the market is new, then identifying a suitable market strategy involves the adoption of an expensive ambidextrous stance. Using a longitudinal case study-based approach of Wishberry, a creative crowdfunding platform in India, we explore this context and propose a model for implementation of this strategy for such firms in embryonic markets. The market characteristics do change simultaneously with the product’s maturation. With this study, we attempt to identify the various ambidextrous strategies available to firms across different stages of a new product’s growth. Further, we explore the role of market maturity with the emergent ambidexterity strategy of new technology ventures. The results of this ongoing research will allow new ventures to identify an appropriate trajectory for implementation of an appropriate ambidextrous stance. © 2017 Proceedings of the 25th European Conference on Information Systems, ECIS 2017. All rights reserved.