Learning Agility Orientation, Ambidextrous Learning, and Resilience

In a rapidly changing and ambiguous business environment, employees need to develop the capacity for psychological resilience, which is a positive adaptation despite adversity. One key process that can cultivate resilience is learning. We suggest that employees’ learning agility orientation (the willingness to learn flexibly and speedily) can foster ambidextrous learning, that is, the motivation to learn from both direct experiences of successes and failures, which, in turn, may translate into higher levels of resilience. We conduct two studies—a time-lagged study and an experimental study—to examine the mediating relationship between learning agility orientation and psychological resilience via ambidextrous learning. The results generally support the hypothesized model and show that learning-agility-oriented employees develop resilience through their motivation to ambidextrously learn from both success and failure. We discuss the implications for theory and practice on learning agility, motivation to learn from different experiences, and resilience.