Sustainability Ambidexterity: How clothing manufacturing companies pursue sustainability exploration and sustainability exploitation

With the increasing existential threat to humanity and the planet through human activity, sustainability has received greater attention from governments, policymakers, industries, and academia. The increased commitment to sustainability in the clothing industry is driving the adoption and implementation of sustainable business practices within and between organisations. Bangladesh, one of the world’s largest clothing manufacturers and exporters, has taken significant sustainability steps in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector, thus giving it a competitive advantage. As fashion retailers increasingly prioritise eco-friendly products and are placing a strong focus on ensuring social sustainability throughout their operations, Bangladesh has been able to hold a strong position in the global clothing market by servicing these demands. Through the lens of organisational ambidexterity, this research aims to answer how export-oriented clothing manufacturing companies pursue exploration and exploitation to achieve their sustainability goals and remain competitive in the global clothing market. The research, rooted in an interpretivist paradigm, employed an inductive thematic analysis and analysed 35 interviews from five information-rich case studies in clothing manufacturing companies in Bangladesh. The results showed that within each dimension of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic), large clothing companies balance exploration and exploitation sequentially, which involves long-term exploitation and short bursts of exploration. But across various sustainability dimensions, where exploration and exploitation are conceptualised as orthogonal, large clothing companies achieve a balance by pursuing exploration in specific domains while simultaneously focusing on exploitation in others. This balance does not necessitate a high level of either; instead, it may involve a combination of moderate and low levels or, in some cases, a moderate level of both exploration and exploitation. The research employed methodological triangulation to cross-check evidence and to provide a comprehensive view of the phenomenon.