Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol. 9, No. 4, August 2020 58 Integrating Ambidexterity into the Modern Manufacturing Era of Industry 4.0 Elfindah Princes Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia University of Queensland, Australia westin_school@yahoo.com Abstract - Ambidexterity has caught attention since the first time it was introduced by March. It is believed to be the answer to competitive advantages under uncertainties. Manufacturing companies are among those who try to implement ambidexterity but with no satisfactory result. Confusion and debates on Ambidexterity are real. Previous studies have been numerous, but each of them is focused on one context only, leaving the others behind. The digitalization in Industry 4.0 has made it even worse, the companies know that they need to integrate ambidextrous capabilities but so far, the research have provided no complete step-by-step integration process. This paper aims to answer this problem by conducting systematic literature research and qualitative approach. The writer introduces an ambidexterity integration concept with 9 key steps in order to integrate ambidextrous capabilities within the small, medium and big companies with clear deadlines and goals to gain competitive advantages. We must also pay attention to the transition process in integrating ambidexterity in the manufacturing industry which may be different from other industries. Keywords: ambidexterity; modern manufacturing; industry 4.0; competitive advantage; supply chain management 1. Introduction Ambidextrous organizations are the new form of enterprises that are considered as the solution to inevitable ambiguity and disruption. It is the combination of the cross functional teams and strategic units that operate on new technologies. The measures taken are intended to evaluate the influencing practices on supply chain ‘s performance in manufacturing firms [1]. These measures are important if the firms want to survive in competitive atmosphere and develop competitive advantage [2]. Thus, ambidextrous capabilities are absolutely needed. March was the first to introduce the term ambidextrous and defined them into two separate activities, exploration and exploitation [3]. Exploration has closer meaning to search, seek, find and others related to new ideas while exploitation is closer to selection, efficiency, refinement and saving resources. This research was continued by [4] with his seminal works on ambidextrous organizations and posited that by having ambidextrous organizations [5], [6], where both exploration and exploitation are done simultaneously in both incremental and discontinuous innovation, then the company will be able to have competitive advantages in both mature markets (where it is critical to develop efficiency and incremental innovation) and emerging markets (where the developments of new products, services and value to adapt to the markets are very vital). These research underlined the importance to understand and implement the ambidextrous capabilities in the organization, and to be able to understand that both exploration and exploitation are two different things that need to be separated and integrated with different strategies and practices [7]. With ambidextrous capabilities, the organization will be able to solve the problems of structural and cultural inertia, which are caused by the extensive use of exploitation and also at the same time refrain from overusing the exploration without first making sure the company can take benefit [8], [9]. Latter research confirmed the capabilities of ambidexterity to bring organizations toward sustainability [10], [11]. Manufacturing industries are one of the key industries that must be given special attention. Indonesia needs to focus on the ten following transformation to face industry 4.0 based on what was summarized as follow: Table 1. Ten National Priorities in Manufacturing Industry [12] No Goals Approach 1 Reform Material Flow Enhance domestic upstream material production. 2 Redesign Industrial Zones Build a single nationwide industry zoning roadmap 3 Embrace Sustainability Grab opportunities under global sustainability. 4 Empower SMEs Empower 3.7 million SME by technologies 5 Build Nationwide Digital Infrastructure Advance Network and digital platform. 6 Attract Foreign Investments Engage top global manufacturers with attractive offer and accelerate technology transfer. 7 Upgrade Human Capital Redesign education curriculum under 4IR era and create professional talent mobility program. 8 Establish Innovation Ecosystem Enhance R&D Centers by government, private sector and universities. 9 Incentivize Technology Investment Introduce Tax exemption/subsidies for technology adoption and support funding. 10 Reoptimize Regulations & Policies Build more coherent policies/regulations by cross-ministry collaborations ______________________________________________________________ International Journal of Supply Chain Management IJSCM, ISSN: 2050-7399 (Online), 2051-3771 (Print) Copyright © ExcelingTech Pub, UK (http://excelingtech.co.uk/) brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by ExcelingTech Publishing Company (E-Journals)