THE DETERMINANTS AND ROLE OF AGILITY IN DIGITAL ORGANIZATIONS

The changes in the business environment due to digital technologies and an increasing pace of innovation, have to be reflected in the organizational design of firms. In particular, agility has been put forward as an approach to cope with upcoming changes and to ensure organizational effectiveness in times of digitalization. We conceptualize agility as two types – detecting and re-acting agility. In this paper, we analyze the organizational design and identify determinants for these two types of agility within the design. In our empirical study, we identified agility as a determinant of organizational effectiveness and discuss the relevance of agility in new forms of organizing in today’s business environment. Our research is based on a quantitative study in the professional services industry where we conducted a survey with 217 respondents. The findings of our study carry theoretical contributions regarding the determinants of agility in the organizational design and the further delineation of detecting and reacting agility. Both of them carry essential importance for the design of digital organizations. Building on that, we derive managerial implications that yield the need to update the organizational design. In addition, we determine new forms of organizing and anchor agility as a management objective for digital organizations

Exploring the mobile technology deployment process in a creative B2B service industry

This study addresses the limited empirically grounded research to understand the process of the mobile technology deployment (MTD) in a creative B2B industry. Strauss’ evolved grounded theory (GT) approach has been employed to analyse three different cases and perform cross-case display of patterns. Multiple sources of both primary, in-depth interviews with key decision-makers, and secondary data have been used to select seven dimensions of the MTD process, three operational and four strategic, signalling similarities and intercase differences. Creative B2B firms extensively deploy mobile technology (MT) on operational and strategic levels. Findings confirm applicability of existing strategic marketing doctrines in relation to the MTD where follower-firm employs MT based on cost-efficiency and risk avoidance strategic orientation. The second firm, challenger, organises and manages the MTD based on market opportunities. The third, leader, is characterised by risk-taking approach and innovation orientation to the MTD. This study provides insights into practices of the MTD in creative B2B companies describing strategic paths that firms follow in order to build competitive positioning through employment of MT. The seven-dimensions framework of the MTD can be practically implied for strategy and operation planning in companies currently applying and potentially willing to deploy MT

Organizational speed as a dynamic capability: Toward a holistic perspective

Current research on organizational speed has been disjointed, which has left organizational speed as an underdeveloped area of study. In this essay, we expand the view of organizational speed as a multidimensional gestalt-like construct that may influence firm performance and competitive advantage. We offer a capability-based definition of organizational speed and identify and review the building blocks of organizational speed. We propose new avenues and questions for future research based on our perspective

Drivers of Business-to-Business (B2B) Sales Success and the role of Digitalization after COVID-19 Disruptions

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to investigate the drivers of business-to-business sales success and the role of digitalization, in a selling and sales management landscape being disrupted by COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology follows a discovery-oriented grounded theory approach which consists of a two-stage qualitative study with sales professionals in Chile, and a Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Findings - This research shows that interfunctional coordination, agility in the selling process, and business customer engagement are critical determinants of B2B sales success, while digitalization moderates these relationships. Originality/value - This research responds to a call for more research on the impact of digitalization on business relationships in different contexts and perspectives. We study the Chilean context, through a two-stage qualitative study, and a fsQCA analysis, which constitutes a novel combination in this stream of research

Coupling Artificial Intelligence Capability and Strategic Agility for Enhanced Product and Service Creativity

Creativity is key for organizations’ ability to remain relevant in today's disruptive world. In this paper, we identify new ways in which organizations can use artificial intelligence (AI) more effectively for creativity. Drawing on the resource‐based view as a background mechanism, we developed and empirically tested a new integrative model. We collected the research data via a large survey of managers distributed to 600 organizations in China. Our findings show that coupling AI capability with strategic agility can directly support creativity. It also mediates the effects of ambidexterity, customer orientation and competitor orientation on organizations’ creativity and performance when developing new products and services. In addition, our findings show that coupling AI capability and strategic agility can significantly improve firms’ new product creativity and new service development performance when there is a high level of government institutional support. Our findings provide theoretical and practical implications for academics and practitioners interested in managing AI for organizational creativity

The impact of information technology resources on SMEs' innovation performance

This work aims to develop a research framework to examine the impact of information technology resources on the innovation performance of Saudi small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs innovation capability influences growth and technological progress (Bruque & Moyano, 2007). However, many developing countries exhibit moderate or even low innovation performance. For instance, Saudi Arabia is ranked 54th by the Global Innovation Index (GII 2011). Innovation systems studies focus on the alignment between the interactions of innovation actors with their constantly changing environment toward better innovation performance (Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 2000). The dynamic capabilities of organisations have been highlighted as a crucial characteristic that helps to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage (Teece et al., 1997). The indirect impact IT resources on innovation performance represents an attractive research area (Benitez-Amado et al., 2010). Therefore, we argue that a closer look at Saudi SMEs information technology resources and their impact on the firm dynamic capabilities and innovation performance would make a significant contribution to existing knowledge. Areas such as the organisation strategies of developing countries, innovation management, dynamic capabilities, open innovation and strategic information systems are few examples of areas that might benefit from this work

Exploring the power of psychological empowerment in boosting workforce agility in SMEs

This study investigates the impact of psychological empowerment on workforce agility in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The study employs a quantitative analysis to measure levels of psychological empowerment and workforce agility, assessing the dimensions of psychological empowerment, including Meaning, Self-determination, Competences, and Impact, and examining their influence on workforce agility. The results reveal a significant positive relationship between the dimensions of competence and meaning in psychological empowerment and workforce agility. However, the dimensions of impact and self-determination do not exhibit a strong relationship with workforce agility. This research contributes to the existing literature by addressing the gap in knowledge regarding the impact of psychological empowerment on workforce agility in Moroccan SMEs. The findings have practical implications for managers and decision-makers in SMEs, suggesting that organizations should focus on improving their employees' skills and enhancing their sense of work meaning to foster resilience and adaptability. By fostering workforce agility through empowerment, organizations can create a more engaged and adaptable workforce, potentially leading to increased productivity and competitiveness.   Keywords: Psychological empowerment, organizational agility, workforce agility, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), construction sector firms. JEL Classification : O15, C3, M1, L74 Paper type: Empirical researchThis study investigates the impact of psychological empowerment on workforce agility in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The study employs a quantitative analysis to measure levels of psychological empowerment and workforce agility, assessing the dimensions of psychological empowerment, including Meaning, Self-determination, Competences, and Impact, and examining their influence on workforce agility. The results reveal a significant positive relationship between the dimensions of competence and meaning in psychological empowerment and workforce agility. However, the dimensions of impact and self-determination do not exhibit a strong relationship with workforce agility. This research contributes to the existing literature by addressing the gap in knowledge regarding the impact of psychological empowerment on workforce agility in Moroccan SMEs. The findings have practical implications for managers and decision-makers in SMEs, suggesting that organizations should focus on improving their employees' skills and enhancing their sense of work meaning to foster resilience and adaptability. By fostering workforce agility through empowerment, organizations can create a more engaged and adaptable workforce, potentially leading to increased productivity and competitiveness.   Keywords: Psychological empowerment, organizational agility, workforce agility, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), construction sector firms. JEL Classification : O15, C3, M1, L74 Paper type: Empirical researc

IT DYNAMIC CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF DATA GENESIS CAPABILITY

Dynamic Capabilities are often considered as the factor justifying the different degrees of success of organizations in turbulent environment. However Dynamic Capability development remains a difficult issue to research, with a paucity of work directly addressing this question, despite its importance. The explanation of the development of Dynamic Capabilities would give organizations the instruments to rationally improve their chance of success and to more likely sustain their competitive advantage. We contribute to the emerging literature on Information Technology (IT) Dynamic Capability development by proposing a research framework grounded in the three sources of Dynamic Capabilities: organizational processes, firm history and firm's assets. Our model takes into consideration also the moderating role played by environmental turbulence on Dynamic Capability development and on process performance. In this contribution we lay the theoretical and methodological groundwork and we foresee the test of the model using Data Genesis (DG) capability as the context. DG is the Dynamic Capability of (1) choosing IT to generate and capture data in digital form, (2) integrating the technology in the appropriate business processes, and (3) managing the digital data so produced.IT capability; Dynamic Capability; capability development; Data Genesis