📈 economics

The Impact of Dynamic Capabilities in Achieving Organizational Ambidexterity: A Field Study at Hayel Saeed Anam Industrial Group in Taiz Governorate, Yemen

This field study at Hayel Saeed Anam Industrial Group in Yemen demonstrates that dynamic capabilities, particularly resource reconfiguration, learning, and integration, have a statistically significant positive impact on achieving organizational ambidexterity.

Original authors: Wafa Al-Amrany, Abdulmalek Al-Mamari, Abdulwahab Saif

Published 2026-08-04

📖 5 min read🧠 Deep dive

CC BY 4.0

Original authors: Wafa Al-Amrany, Abdulmalek Al-Mamari, Abdulwahab Saif

Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ✨ This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer

Imagine you are the captain of a massive ship sailing through a stormy ocean. The waves are unpredictable, the wind shifts suddenly, and the map you were given yesterday is already outdated. To survive, you can't just keep steering the same way (that's too rigid), but you also can't just spin the wheel wildly in every direction (that's chaos). You need a special kind of superpower: the ability to keep your ship running smoothly while simultaneously building a new, faster engine on the deck. In the world of business, this superpower is called Organizational Ambidexterity. It's the tricky art of doing two things at once: "exploiting" what you already know works well to make money today, and "exploring" wild new ideas to survive tomorrow.

But how does a company actually pull off this magic trick? That's where Dynamic Capabilities come in. Think of these as the ship's crew's ability to react instantly. It's not just about having a good map; it's about the crew's ability to sense a storm coming, learn how to sail in it, integrate new tools, coordinate their movements, and reconfigure the sails to catch a new wind. This paper asks a simple but huge question: Does having a super-reactive crew actually help a company balance its current success with future growth? The researchers wanted to see if these "dynamic skills" are the secret sauce that lets a business be both steady and adventurous at the same time.

The Story of the Giant Group in Yemen

In the bustling, challenging business world of Yemen, there is a massive economic giant called the Hayel Saeed Anam Group. They run factories, trade goods, and make everything from soap to dairy products. Like any big ship in a stormy sea, they face constant challenges: rising costs, changing markets, and the need to grow without breaking what already works. The researchers, a team of curious scholars, decided to dive into this group to see if their "dynamic capabilities" were helping them stay balanced.

They didn't just guess; they asked 254 employees—managers, technicians, and regular workers—what they thought. They used a questionnaire, which is like a detailed survey, asking these employees to rate how well their company could sense opportunities, learn new things, integrate ideas, coordinate tasks, and reconfigure resources. They also asked how well the company balanced its "old school" efficiency with its "new school" innovation.

The Big Findings: What Worked and What Didn't

The results were like a treasure map revealing which tools were most valuable for the journey.

First, the team found that the Hayel Saeed Anam Group is actually quite good at being "ambidextrous." The employees rated their company's ability to balance things very high, with an average score of 5.97 out of a possible 7. They are successfully keeping the lights on while also trying new things.

More importantly, the study demonstrated a statistically significant positive impact of Dynamic Capabilities on this success. The researchers found a strong, positive link between having these capabilities and being able to balance exploration and exploitation. In fact, these capabilities explained 47% of the variance in why the company was good at balancing things. It's like saying that nearly half of the reason the ship stays upright is because the crew knows how to adjust the sails.

However, not all the "superpowers" were equal. When the researchers broke down the five specific skills, a clear winner emerged:

Resource Reconfiguration (The Champion): This was the most powerful skill. It means the ability to take existing resources (like money, people, or machines) and rearrange them into something new and useful. This skill had the biggest impact, with a score of 0.363 in the statistical model. It's the ability to say, "Hey, let's take this old machine and use it for a totally new product!"
Learning: Coming in second, the ability to acquire and share new knowledge was also a major winner.
Integration: The ability to bring different parts of the company together to work as one was also a significant factor.

But here is the twist: Two skills that you might think are super important actually did not show a direct, significant impact in this specific study.

Opportunity Sensing: This is the ability to spot new chances in the market. Even though the company was good at spotting opportunities (it scored a high 6.20 out of 7), the math showed that just seeing the opportunity didn't directly translate to better balance in this model.
Coordination: This is the ability to organize tasks and people. Similarly, while the company was good at coordinating, it didn't directly drive the "ambidexterity" score in the way the other skills did.

The researchers suggest that maybe sensing and coordination are like the foundation of a house—they are necessary, but they don't build the rooms on their own. You need the active work of learning, integrating, and reconfiguring resources to actually make the balance happen.

The Verdict

So, what does this all mean for the Hayel Saeed Anam Group? The study concludes that if they want to keep thriving in a changing world, they should double down on learning, integration, and especially reconfiguring their resources. They need to keep taking their existing tools and reshaping them for new adventures.

While spotting new opportunities is great, the real magic happens when the company takes those opportunities and actively reshapes its internal world to seize them. The study didn't find that sensing or coordination were the direct drivers of this balance, so the group shouldn't just focus on "watching the horizon" or "organizing meetings" alone. They need to focus on the active, messy, creative work of learning and rebuilding.

In the end, this paper suggests that for a business to be truly ambidextrous—walking the tightrope between the old and the new—it needs a crew that doesn't just see the storm, but knows exactly how to rebuild the ship while it's still sailing through the waves.

Technical Summary: The Impact of Dynamic Capabilities on Organizational Ambidexterity at Hayel Saeed Anam Group

Problem Statement and Context
The study addresses the challenge of how large organizations in volatile environments, specifically within the Republic of Yemen, can maintain adaptability and sustainability amidst rapid technological shifts, market instability, and rising operational costs. While the literature establishes that Dynamic Capabilities (DC)—the ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competencies—are crucial for responding to environmental changes, there is a scarcity of empirical research examining this relationship within the Yemeni context, particularly among large industrial conglomerates.

The core problem investigated is the extent to which specific dimensions of dynamic capabilities (opportunity sensing, learning, integration, coordination, and resource reconfiguration) influence Organizational Ambidexterity (OA)—the simultaneous ability to exploit existing resources efficiently while exploring new opportunities. The study focuses on the Hayel Saeed Anam (HSA) Industrial Group, a prominent economic entity in Taiz Governorate facing significant environmental pressures.

Methodology
The research employed a descriptive-analytical approach utilizing a quantitative field study design.

Population and Sample: The study targeted administrative and technical employees across four industrial companies within the HSA Group (Yemeni Company for Industry and Trade, Ghee and Soap Company, Diversified Company, and Dairy and Food Company). A random sample of 254 employees was selected to ensure representation across job levels and specializations.
Instrumentation: Data were collected via a structured questionnaire based on established literature (e.g., Al-Hila et al., 2020; Teece, 2007). The instrument measured:
- Independent Variable: Dynamic Capabilities, divided into five dimensions: Opportunity Sensing, Learning, Integration, Coordination, and Resource Reconfiguration.
- Dependent Variable: Organizational Ambidexterity, divided into two dimensions: Exploration and Exploitation.
- Items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale.
Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 28. The analysis included:
- Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, relative importance).
- Reliability testing using Cronbach's Alpha (ranging from 0.76 to 0.88, indicating high internal consistency).
- Pearson correlation analysis to examine relationships between variables.
- Simple Linear Regression to test the main hypothesis.
- Multiple Linear Regression to test the sub-hypotheses regarding the specific impact of each DC dimension on OA.

Key Results

Descriptive Levels: The HSA Group demonstrated high levels of both Dynamic Capabilities (Mean = 5.98, Relative Importance = 85.47%) and Organizational Ambidexterity (Mean = 5.97, Relative Importance = 85.35%). Among DC dimensions, "Opportunity Sensing" ranked highest (88.60%), while "Integration" ranked lowest (84.18%), though all were rated as "High" or "Very High."
Correlation: A correlation matrix revealed positive and significant relationships between all dimensions of dynamic capabilities and organizational ambidexterity. The strongest correlation was found between the "Learning" and "Resource Reconfiguration" dimensions (r = 0.784).
Main Hypothesis (Overall Impact): Simple linear regression confirmed a statistically significant positive impact of dynamic capabilities on organizational ambidexterity ( $R = 0.685$ , $p < 0.001$ ). The model explained approximately 47% of the variance in organizational ambidexterity.
Sub-Hypotheses (Dimensional Impact): Multiple regression analysis revealed that the impact of specific dimensions varies:
- Significant Positive Impacts:
  - Resource Reconfiguration: The most influential dimension ( $\beta = 0.363$ , $p < 0.001$ ).
  - Learning: Significant impact ( $\beta = 0.157$ , $p = 0.017$ ).
  - Integration: Significant impact ( $\beta = 0.133$ , $p = 0.022$ ).
- Non-Significant Impacts:
  - Opportunity Sensing: Did not show a statistically significant direct impact in the multiple regression model ( $\beta = 0.112$ , $p = 0.053$ ).
  - Coordination: Did not show a statistically significant direct impact ( $\beta = 0.086$ , $p = 0.171$ ).

Key Contributions and Claims
The paper claims to bridge a knowledge gap by providing empirical evidence from a developing, conflict-affected economy (Yemen) regarding the link between dynamic capabilities and ambidexterity. Its primary contributions include:

Validation of the Relationship: Confirming that dynamic capabilities are a significant predictor of organizational ambidexterity in the Yemeni industrial sector, explaining nearly half of the variance in ambidexterity.
Dimensional Specificity: Identifying that not all dynamic capabilities contribute equally. The study highlights Resource Reconfiguration as the most critical driver, followed by Learning and Integration.
Contextual Nuance: The finding that "Opportunity Sensing" and "Coordination" did not show significant direct impacts in the regression model (despite positive correlations) suggests that their influence may be indirect or dependent on interaction with other dimensions within this specific organizational context. This contrasts with some previous studies in different contexts (e.g., Jordanian pharmaceuticals) where sensing was found to be significant.

Significance and Limitations
The authors conclude that for organizations like HSA Group to achieve a sustainable balance between exploration and exploitation, management must prioritize learning mechanisms, integration of resources, and the reconfiguration of existing assets. While the study confirms the general importance of dynamic capabilities, it modestly notes that the specific contribution of sensing and coordination requires further investigation, potentially through mediating variables.

The study acknowledges limitations regarding its spatial scope (Taiz Governorate only), temporal scope (data from 2025), and reliance on a cross-sectional quantitative design. Consequently, the authors suggest that future research should employ longitudinal designs, mixed methods, or structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore indirect effects and generalize findings to other sectors and countries. The paper does not claim universal applicability but rather offers a specific, data-driven insight into the operational dynamics of a major Yemeni industrial group.

The Story of the Giant Group in Yemen

The Big Findings: What Worked and What Didn't

The Verdict

Technical Summary: The Impact of Dynamic Capabilities on Organizational Ambidexterity at Hayel Saeed Anam Group

More like this