Supply Chain Integration, Knowledge Transfer, and Innovation Ambidexterity in Nigerian Manufacturing: A Multi-Level Analysis

This dissertation conducts a multi-level empirical analysis of the relationships among supply chain integration, knowledge transfer, and innovation ambidexterity in Nigerian manufacturing firms. Innovation ambidexterity, defined as the simultaneous pursuit of exploratory and exploitative innovation in supply chain operations, is theorised as a critical capability for sustaining competitive advantage in volatile emerging market environments. The study proposes that supply chain integration enables knowledge transfer, which in turn facilitates ambidextrous innovation at both the firm and team levels. Drawing on ambidexterity theory, knowledge-based view, and supply chain integration literature, an original multi-level conceptual model is developed. Hierarchical linear modelling is applied to nested data collected from 280 firms and 840 functional teams across manufacturing clusters in Lagos, Kano, Aba, and Enugu. Quantitative instruments are supplemented by 30 qualitative case vignettes. The study introduces the original construct of supply chain knowledge corridors, defined as structured cross-firm pathways through which supply chain partners exchange tacit and explicit operational knowledge. Findings are expected to demonstrate that knowledge transfer fully mediates the integration-ambidexterity relationship at the firm level, while team-level dynamics moderate the strength of this mediation. The dissertation makes original contributions to multi-level innovation management theory, supply chain knowledge management, and ambidexterity research in African manufacturing. It also provides the first empirically validated multi-level model of this relationship in the Nigerian context. Keywords: supply chain integration, knowledge transfer, innovation ambidexterity, manufacturing, multi-level analysis.