Knowledge Resources, Exploration, and Exploitation: A New Perspective on the Interplay Between Innovation and Application

Knowledge resources are the fundamental ingredients used in exploration and exploitation and an overlooked source of distinction and tension between these two processes. In this paper we use a strategic lens to differentiate evidence-based knowledge resources from tinkerable knowledge resources. This conceptualization provides the basis for a bridge between the literature on the resource-based view of the firm and research into exploration and exploitation. We suggest that an examination of knowledge resources offers a new perspective for understanding exploration and exploitation, and suggests new opportunities for achieving organizational ambidexterity. A proposed model indicates the application consequences of match and mismatch across knowledge resources and knowledge flow activities in terms of exploration and exploitation. An agenda for future research is proposed along with steps that managers can take to develop exploration and exploitation capabilities in their firms by managing their knowledge resources more precisely and effectively.