An Innovative Ambidexterity Typology of Filipino Agripreneurs and Its Implications for Regional Development Policies

Author: Melodee Marciana E. De Castro and Dinah Pura T. Depositario

DOI: doi.org/10.54096/CBBU8022

Abstract: The innovative ambidexterity lens classifies agripreneurs as having exploratory, exploitative, or ambidextrous postures.Exploratory agripreneurs exhibit fast and radical innovative behavior, exploitative agripreneurs slow and incremental innovative behavior, whereas ambidextrous agripreneurs are in between. This article proposes a typology of Filipino agripreneurs based on four dimensions of innovative ambidexterity. Data on one hundred and seventy-four (174) Filipino agripreneurs from administrative regions in the Philippines, were derived from the 2013 to 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Adult Population Surveys (GEM-APS) and analyzed using unsupervised K-means. Three clusters of Filipino agripreneurs emerged: (1) generally exploratory; (2) purely exploitative; and (3) mixed ambidextrous. Based on the results, many of the highly exploratory agripreneurs came from the Southern Mindanao and Caraga regions. A closer look at the formal, and informal institutional support in these regions reveals an enabling environment from government agencies in the aforementioned regions. Meanwhile, most of the mixed ambidextrous agripreneurs were from Ilocos, Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan (MIMAROPA), Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao, Central Mindanao, and Caraga. One commonality among these regions was their all having international airports, which is important to facilitate the transport of products to Manila and international markets. As a recommendation, regional development policies must aim to develop agripreneurs with exploratory, as well as ambidextrous postures. An enabling formal and informal institutional environment (i.e., economic, technological, natural, and political-legal factors, as well as, networks) must be put in place at the regional level for these innovative postures to be developed and for innovations in agripreneurship to be accelerated in the country.

Keywords: innovation, ambidexterity, exploratory innovation posture, exploitative innovation posture, GEM-APS, regional development policies

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