Exploration Patterns in Fast Growing Entrepreneurial Firms: A Multiple Case Study in the Internet Technology Industry

Based on the seminal paper of March (1991), numerous scholars (e.g. Ahuja & Lampert, 2001; Elfring & Hulsink, 2003; Tushman & Anderson, 1986) emphasize that realizing technological change requires exploration or activities such as creative search, experimentation, improvisation, and technology probing. At the same time, it has been emphasized that exploration of new technological capabilities is a fragile and time-consuming process that triggers organizational tensions and costs. Academic research on exploration (e.g. Belderbos et al., 2010; Jansen et al., 2006; O’Reilly & Tushman, 2004; Uotila et al., 2009) has therefore substantially increased during the past decade, providing valuable insights into the organizational challenges and performance implications of exploration. At the same time, it needs to be noticed that this research stream is dominated by cross-sectional studies which typically focus on how large established firms can stimulate exploration within and outside their organizational boundaries. In this paper, we want to complement previous research on exploration in two important ways.