Annals of the University of Oradea: Economic Science (Jul 2019)
A REVIEW OF ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY CONCEPT AND CHARACTERISTICS
Abstract
The current business environment has proven to be extremely interesting but difficult at the same time, with multiple challenges and opportunities, but also threats for some of those who are currently working. Organizational agility has become a necessary capability for organizations wishing to survive and succeed in an uncertain environment characterized by numerous and sudden changes. The present paper aims to present theoretically the concept of “organizational agility” by performing a synthesis and description of the definitions given to the term, which we find in the recent specialized literature. The purpose of this literature review is to capture what is the current state of knowledge, to establish correctly the conceptual framework, all with the idea of further formulation of its own definition, but also of undertaking a practical research in the future. To research, I've reported articles found on Google Scholar over the last 5 years, 2014-2018, focusing on those in which the authors formulated their own definition of the concept. The study has shown that although there is no unanimous definition of the concept of “organizational agility”, it is approached as an absolute necessity for organizations seeking to be competitive in their field of activity. Most authors have defined organizational agility by reference to the role it plays in adapting to change or capitalize environmental opportunities, in gaining competitive advantage, and others have highlighted the need for agile human resources. At the same time, in a large number of works, organizational agility is defined by the presentation of its characteristics and the benefits that it presents compared to the traditional organization. By the way of realization, by presenting a sample of recent literature, the work contributes to the correct knowledge of the stage of defining the concept of “organizational agility”, to establishing its own area of interest but also to others interested in the field, being the basis for carrying out a practical study future. Of course this review of literature is limited only to the definition of the concept of “organizational agility”. Therefore, it cannot and does not attempt to be an examination of the whole field of literature, but a sampling of some representative works for the field.
