Introduction
During the past few decades, the evolution of the international economy has encouraged many companies to search for international markets, therefore, organizations need organizational changes in accordance with the environmental conditions in order to improve their performance. So, organizations need to be aware of their international performance.    Due to sudden changes and various environmental challenges in international markets, the performance of companies is very important. Therefore, agility at the strategic level has become a factor that organizations can use to respond appropriately to these changes. These answers can be based on adopting exploration and exploitation strategies that affect the organization's strategic agility. These two ambidexterity dimensions can be the source of strategic alliances. Strategic alliances made by companies can be a factor in responding appropriately to environmental challenges. Therefore, the current research aims to investigate the impact of strategic alliances on the international performance of organizations about variables such as ambidexterity dimensions and strategic agility. The statistical population of the current research consists of companies that have international activities. The sample size includes 227 companies. The tool of the present research is a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability have been confirmed. Also, the structural equation test and Smart-PLS 3.2 program were used for data analysis. The results of the present study showed that strategic alliance has a positive and significant effect on exploration and exploitation. Also, the results showed that strategic alliance has a positive and significant effect on the dimensions of ambivalence. The dimensions of ambidexterity (exploration and exploitation) also positively and significantly affect strategic agility. Finally, strategic agility has a positive and significant effect on international performance. International performance is influenced by organizational strategies. One of these strategies is creating strategic agility in the organization. On the other hand, the decision to adopt agile strategies is submerged at the macro level, as is the adoption of two-way strategies (exploration or exploitation). The dimensions of the two pillars allow the organization to respond appropriately to environmental changes in an agile manner. But all these strategies are influenced by organizational alliances. Alliances that are seen today at the strategic level are actually the ultimate level of alliance between two or more organizations. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the international performance of organizations based on strategic alliance, two-column dimensions (exploration and exploitation), and strategic agility.
Methodology
The current research is in the descriptive-survey category in terms of its nature and collection method. Also, the current research is practical in terms of its purpose. The statistical population of this research is made up of senior managers of Iranian companies that have an international unit. In structural equations, the sample size can be obtained based on the number of research subjects. In between, 227 companies and 364 people completed the questionnaire of this research. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using software PLS was used to examine the relationships between the constructs of this research.
Results and Discussion
The results of the first and second hypothesis point to the positive impact of strategic alliance on exploration and exploitation. Based on this, it can be suggested that by adopting strategic alliances with other companies in the current competitive environment, further exploitation and exploration can be done. It is suggested to the companies to encourage people working in the organization to cooperate with partners by creating a sense of belonging in inter-organizational relations. Also, understanding the sharing of efforts with partners in the face of problems causes these alliances to have a longer lifespan, which makes them explore using research and development in addition to exploiting the existing situation. Also, it is suggested to the senior managers to be aware of the market and business conditions and be fully aware of the existing differences, because start-up companies, especially small and medium-sized companies, are always accompanied by a lack of environmental resources and knowledge. So, it is better to form exploration or exploitation alliances with other companies that have sufficient experience in the relevant business. Organizational managers suggested to gain more knowledge by adopting strategic alliances and make decisions to lead their organization to discover new opportunities in new markets. Of course, the impact of strategic alliances on exploitation is greater than exploration. Therefore, it can be suggested to the senior managers of companies that creating exploitative alliances can be more effective than exploratory alliances. In fact, in these alliances, companies can adjust products, expand services, and increase savings.
According to the third and fourth hypothesis, which refers to the positive and significant impact of exploration and exploitation on strategic agility, it can be suggested to managers to adopt each of these strategies according to environmental changes. It can cause agility at different organizational levels. In fact, with these strategies, the organization adapts itself to environmental challenges. It is suggested that in order to expand products quickly and easily in a new environment, it is better to use discovery-based strategies such as commercializing new products, inventing new products, and using new distribution channels. According to the discovery of emerging products, step pricing methods can be used and in case of increased competition, the type of pricing can be changed in an agile way. Also, for the rapid expansion of products in the current environment, frequent modifications and changes in products and services can be used as well as the introduction of these modified products. Considering the greater impact of discovery strategies than exploitation on strategic agility, it is suggested to use discovery strategies such as inventing new products and using new environmental opportunities that arise from creating strategic alliances. According to the fifth hypothesis, it can be suggested to managers that by acquiring agility at the strategic level, many environmental challenges can be easily solved, which requires rapid changes in the organization's strategies and as a result, products. Therefore, it is suggested to increase their sales volume by changing the variety of products or services available in the markets. Customizing products and services can also increase market share. Other factors, such as quick reaction to competitors' price changes in the international arena and the use of new technologies in production, increase profitability and thus improve the organization's performance.
Conclusion
According to the data analysis, in the current research, it was found that strategic alliance has a positive and significant effect on the dimensions of ambivalence (exploration and exploitation). It was also found that the dimensions of two pillars (exploration and exploitation) have a positive and significant effect on strategic agility. Finally, this research showed that strategic agility has a positive and significant effect on the international performance of organizations.
The findings of the present research led to a better understanding of the managers of the factors that affect the international performance of the organization. In fact, it can be said that managers of international companies can influence their international performance by making appropriate decisions. According to the assumptions of the research, it showed that organizations should form strategic alliances with other organizations to easily overcome these obstacles due to the uncertainty and lack of resources they need. On the other hand, the formed strategic alliances are more inclined to take advantage of the existing situation, hence they form strategic alliances of the type of exploitation. Also, the adoption of two-dimensional strategies (exploration and exploitation) will increase the strategic agility of organizations. This effect is much greater when organizations intend to use an exploration strategy than when they have an exploitation strategy. The research showed that strategic agility in today's complex environment improves the international performance of organizations.