In the case of ambidextrous organisations, the key issue is the combined application of efficiency, exploitation, effectiveness and exploration. The first capability refers to the high-level implementation and continuous improvement of existing activities and operational processes, while the second capability refers to the successful development and introduction of new products, services, processes and business models. It is common for companies to behave as explorers in the early stages of their life cycle and then, once they have become comfortable with their market position, to become exploiters. This is accompanied by a tendency to avoid riskier developments and to minimise investment in them (O'Reilly–Tushman, 2013).

In addition to managerial ambitions, vision and organisational capabilities, another key question is what resources are used to implement innovative ideas. In Hungary, most entrepreneurs automatically assume that their company should not be the only one to cover the costs of various innovation developments, which should instead be financed by the state through some kind of grant scheme. However, the past decades have shown that thousands of innovative corporate projects have been successfully implemented, at least from a grant perspective, but at the same time, no large number of world-renowned Hungarian products have appeared on the global market. Presumably, the problem is not with the grant system and the various schemes, but rather with the lack of long-term thinking or the persistent experimentation and testing developments over many years, as well as the financing of market launches, which domestic organisations struggle with. Developing and launching new products and services requires enormous resources and several years of perseverance and faith on the part of both developers and business leaders and owners. Innovation is expensive!

Each subsequent phase of an innovation project costs exponentially more than the previous one. While the cost of an idea is practically zero, the development of a prototype costs an average of USD 10,000. The construction and testing of further prototypes can cost several hundred thousand dollars, and then the launch of the product, together with its market introduction, can cost at least USD 10 million. The example presented is a rough estimate, which may vary significantly depending on the industry, the characteristics of the business, and even the type of innovation project (Schilling, 2020).

In addition to financial resources, we cannot ignore the human resources and human capital required for innovation. It simply does not work to have an engineer work part-time on an groundbreaking development that will put the company on a new track. It is difficult to achieve innovation through research and development carried out during lunch breaks! It cannot be done alone – a team is needed. A large number of creative engineers and, if possible, developers with a multidisciplinary background are needed who are capable of experimenting with new directions for the business, new products and/or services that represent new markets, organising production and preparing for market launch. In fact, it is all this that must be financed; if the company cannot do it alone, some kind of financial arrangement must be made to bridge the gap to market.

According to our research experience, the wider small and medium-sized enterprise sector – with the exception of companies based on development – lacks both the capital and the human resources to launch serious development activities. It is just as true for this group of companies as it is for the much-talked-about startups of today that an idea is not just an idea, and that even many ideas do not necessarily lead to a successful market launch. Translated into financial terms, this means that numerous development paths that later turn out to be dead ends must be financed and viewed as learning experiences before we can talk about market success. James Dyson, the famous English manufacturer and innovator, developed and tested an incredible 5,127 prototypes in the 1980s over a period of about five years before achieving success with his Japanese partner with the perfected bagless vacuum cleaner (Dyson, 2021). He gained his fame and fortune through the cyclone technology developed for the vacuum cleaner and its application to other everyday products, such as the hair dryer (Dyson Supersonic) and the room cooling and heating fan (Dyson Cool), with a tenacious spirit of trial and error. Excellent design expertise, a commitment to perfection, and uncompromising development based on extremely thorough observation of consumer needs have resulted in Dyson products that quickly won the satisfaction of millions of consumers, who were willing to pay 8-10 times the price of a traditional vacuum cleaner, hair dryer or even room fan for these iconic design products.