The Role of Marketing Ambidexterity in Balancing Exploitation and Exploration in Nigerian Consumer Goods Firms: A Longitudinal Investigation

This study longitudinally investigates the role of marketing ambidexterity, defined as a firm's simultaneous capacity for exploitative (efficiency-focused) and exploratory (innovation-focused) marketing activities, in determining performance outcomes in Nigerian consumer goods firms. Marketing ambidexterity theory, developed primarily in the strategy and innovation management literatures, has been proposed as a key organisational capability for firms navigating rapidly changing consumer environments. The Nigerian consumer goods sector, characterised by frequent product reformulations, distribution innovation, and digital communication disruptions, presents an ideal field for longitudinal investigation of ambidexterity in action. Drawing on organisational ambidexterity theory, dynamic capabilities theory, and the marketing strategy literature, the study develops and tests an original model of marketing ambidexterity with propositions about the structural, contextual, and leadership mechanisms enabling simultaneous exploitation and exploration. A longitudinal design spanning 36 months examines 20 Nigerian consumer goods firms across South West and North West Nigeria through repeated executive interviews, marketing strategy documentation reviews, and performance data collection. Dynamic panel data methods including fixed-effects modelling and growth curve analysis are employed. The study generates original theoretical propositions about the paradox management mechanisms enabling marketing ambidexterity in Nigerian firms and contributes a validated longitudinal measurement framework to the marketing strategy literature. Keywords: marketing ambidexterity, exploitation, exploration, consumer goods, Nigeria