The influence of manufacturing flexibility on the interplay between exploration and exploitation: the effects of organisational learning and the environment

Abstract

This paper analyses whether the firm can combine exploration and exploitation and seeks to determine whether implementing manufacturing flexibility will facilitate the development of either of these two terms or both simultaneously. This relationship was measured in 231 Spanish production firms. The results obtained show that: (1) firms develop exploration of new knowledge at the same time as they exploit their abilities; (2) manufacturing flexibility encourages the development of both exploration and exploitation; (3) this relationship is even more significant if we take into account dynamism of the environment and organisational learning.