Fair trade plays a crucial role in achieving the SDGs by promoting a more democratic global economy that supports small producers in developing countries. Within this system, intermediate organizations act as essential bridges, connecting producers from emerging economies with profit-driven companies in developed nations. These organizations are considered ambidextrous, as they balance knowledge exploration—driving innovation—and knowledge exploitation—enhancing efficiency. This ambidexterity allows them to foster both social impact and business performance within the fair-trade system. Through qualitative research, including interviews and financial analysis, the study reveals how companies like Altromercato (AM) navigates the complexities of balancing exploration and exploitation, contributing to both short-term efficiency and long-term innovation. Altromercato, as a central player in the fair trade network, facilitates the transfer of knowledge and competences across the supply chain. The organization helps improve processes for upstream partners and provides higher quality products to downstream businesses, while also sharing managerial expertise. While AM excels at fostering innovation, its involvement in improving operational efficiency has been limited for its partners and for itself, resulting in financial constraints. Nevertheless, AM’s ability to simultaneously support sustainability and profitability demonstrates its ambidextrous role in the fair-trade ecosystem. The study also identifies asymmetries in the knowledge transfer between upstream and downstream partners, suggesting areas for further development. Overall, this research provides key theoretical insights and practical recommendations for enhancing the economic sustainability of fair-trade organizations like AM, while offering a foundation for future research on ambidexterity in fair trade enterprises.
