Title: Customer knowledge management, organisational ambidexterity, and firm performance: an organisational driving triangle perspective

Authors: Fatemeh Khorasanchi; Ali Reza Hashemi Nekoo

Addresses: Department of Technology and Entrepreneurship Management, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Iran ' Department of Technology and Entrepreneurship Management, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Iran

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of customer knowledge management (CKM) on ambidexterity and firm performance. For this purpose, the authors propose a theoretical framework that examines how ambidexterity mediates the relationship between customer knowledge management and firm performance. The scope of this study encompasses 96 creative Iranian startups. This study is cross-sectional, and the data was collected within a month. To test hypotheses, we used partial least squares-structural equation modelling with Smart PLS-SEM v.3.2.8. The findings show that ambidexterity has a notable mediating function in the association between customer knowledge management and firm performance. The study conducted is one of the first to use mediation analysis to determine how organisational performance is affected by ambidexterity as a mediator. The findings show the important role of ambidexterity in the impact of customer knowledge management on business performance. It makes a significant contribution to the theoretical perspective of managing customer knowledge. The authors suggest practical decision-making recommendations for decision-makers adopting customer knowledge management.

Keywords: customer knowledge management; CKM; firm performance; ambidexterity; partial least square; startup.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2025.147214

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2025 Vol.24 No.4, pp.315 - 335

Received: 10 Mar 2024
Accepted: 25 Apr 2024
Published online: 11 Jul 2025 *

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