Firm Agility Research Articles

Economic Factors and Performance of Selected Quoted Consumer Goods Manufacturing Companies: The Moderating Roles of Firm Agility

The problem of this study is the significant decline in the performance of consumer goods manufacturing companies, which is caused by various economic factors such as import policies, inflation, infrastructure, interest rates, and exchange rates. This study aims to evaluate the impact of economic factors on the performance of publicly traded consumer goods manufacturing companies and test how corporate agility moderates this relationship. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design with a population of 5,625 employees from 12 companies, yielding a final sample of 563. Data was collected through a questionnaire validated by confirmatory factor analysis and measured by a Likert scale. Data analysis was conducted with multiple regression using SPSS version 22.0. The results show that economic factors significantly affect firm performance, and firm agility significantly moderates this relationship. The conclusion of this study suggests that consumer goods manufacturing companies need to improve their agility to overcome the negative impact of economic factors. This study implies the need for more adaptive and flexible management strategies to enhance firm performance in the face of dynamic economic challenges.

Using IT-Enabled Dynamic Capabilities to Develop Firm Inventive Capability and Business Process Agility: The Moderating Effect of aTumultuous Surroundings

Businesses today must be flexible and creative in order to adapt to the ever-changing business circumstances. This study suggests that IT-enabled Dynamic Capabilities (ITDC) are used to shape firm business process agility and firm innovative capabilities in a turbulent environment. It does this by drawing on the multi-theoretic lens. The suggested model has a favorable and significant correlation, according to a study of 254 IT and business professionals from Indonesia’s companies. The relationship between ITDC and agility is greatly tempered by marketing and technological upheaval. Comparably, marketing turbulence is also significantly mild. However, in contrast to expectations, technological turbulence has a negligible moderating influence on the link between ITDC and business inventive capabilities. This study demonstrates how firm agility and innovative capability mitigate the impact of ITDC on business performance. Practical ramifications and theoretical anchoring are also covered.

From Digital Platform Capabilities to Firm Performance

This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of digital platform capabilities (DPC) on firm performance (FP) through a parallel mediation model of firm agility (FA) and network capabilities (NC) in a specific context. Data for this study were collected from 422 randomly selected Saudi firms with survey questionnaires mainly in central, western, and eastern areas of Saudi Arabia and then analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that there are significant relationships of DPC to FA and to NC. No direct and significant relationship was found between PDC and FP. Moreover, FA and NC fully play their mediating roles between DPC and FP. The study contributes to the literature on digitalization, capabilities, and performance by providing new insights from the Saudi context. It also contributes to the practice by providing managerial implications for Saudi managers. Based on empirical evidence, to the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first endeavor to link DPC and FP and provide a new perspective of its influence mechanism.

Navigating the manufacturing revolution: identifying the digital transformation antecedents

PurposeIn the era of digitalization, digital technology has transformed businesses and created enormous opportunities for organizations worldwide. Unsurprisingly, research on digital transformation has garnered significant interest among academics in recent decades. However, this study aims to recognize the key and holistic antecedents influencing digital transformation in manufacturing firms. This study also investigates the indirect relationships of antecedents with firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe hypothesis was investigated using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. The data was collected from 279 employees through a self-administered survey of manufacturing firms.FindingsThe results described a significant and positive impact of competitive pressure, leadership role, organization culture, organization mindfulness, government regulation, and IT readiness on digital transformation and firm performance. Furthermore, digital transformation partially mediates the relationship between antecedents and firm performance.Originality/valueThe study finds a holistic perspective of the critical antecedents of digital transformation using the mediation role of digital transformation and moderating effects of firm agility. Additionally, all antecedents have a significant association with Firm Performance.

Nexus of business intelligence capabilities, firm performance, firm agility, and knowledge-oriented leadership in the Jordanian high-tech sector

The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of business intelligence capabilities on firm performance, with a specific emphasis on the role of firm agility and the impact of knowledge-oriented leadership within this association. The paper used a quantitative approach using data from a sample of 237 participants randomly chosen from a pool of 34 high-tech companies in Jordan. The study included a diverse range of participants, including individuals occupying various professions, such as managers, supervisors, analysts, and other relevant positions. This broad sample was selected to provide a full comprehension of the influence of business intelligence capabilities on firm performance. This approach allowed for the inclusion of various organizational levels and views, therefore capturing a wide range of insights. The study used the partial least squares modeling technique to analyze cross-sectional data to investigate the proposed model. The findings of this analysis, with a statistically significant p-value of less than 0.05, elucidate that the capabilities of business intelligence exert a substantial influence on the agility of a firm, subsequently affecting the firm’s overall performance. Moreover, firm agility mediates the correlation between its business intelligence capabilities and firm performance. Additionally, knowledge-oriented leadership moderates the effect of business intelligence capabilities on firm agility.

Role of Innovation Management Practices in Enhancing Firm Agility and Adaptability during Times of Crisis in Turkey

Purpose: The study sought to investigate the role of innovation management practices in enhancing firm agility and adaptability during times of crisis in Turkey.
 Materials and Methods: The study adopted a desktop methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library
 Findings: The study found that Turkish firms embracing innovation management practices exhibited enhanced agility and adaptability during crises. These practices included nurturing an innovative culture, investing in research and development, and embracing digital solutions. Leadership commitment and external collaborations were identified as crucial enablers. Additionally, the research underscored the importance of tailoring strategies to Turkey's specific context to effectively bolster firm resilience during challenging times.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study recommends Turkish firms should formulate agile innovation strategies that emphasize flexibility and rapid response to changing market conditions. This involves regularly assessing customer needs, market trends, and emerging technologies. By continuously adapting their innovation strategies, firms can remain responsive and agile during crises. This recommendation contributes to theory by emphasizing the integration of agility principles into innovation management frameworks, highlighting the need for dynamic and iterative approaches. Encourage cross-functional collaboration within organizations to facilitate innovation.

The Three-Lens Approach to Agility: Capturing Distinct Strategic Views on the Organization for Comprehensive Examination of Firm Agility

Observing strategic agility as a performance outcome require properly observing the firm over a period of time. This study was conducted to explore and enhance an agility framework for analysing how companies perform as they evolve over time. The theoretical framework developed in this multiple case study emerged based on a combination of an extensive literature review and observed strategic management issues that arise during direct observations. The three-lens approach consists of the Business Model Effectiveness Lens, Productive Information Systems Lens and the Independent – Dynamic Culture Lens. Business Model Effectiveness demonstrates ability in managing the changes in the business model throughout adaptation cycles and is reflected in firm performance. A productive information system is the fundamental support essential for timely, swift and accurate decisions, and, in turn, knowledge cultivation. Culture of an agile company develops in concurrence with firm dynamics throughout adaptation cycles and independent of original founder imprint. Analysis using the three-lens agility framework showed that companies under study did not represent agile companies. All three companies are found to not have business model effectiveness, the information systems were unproductive and the organizations’ culture were not independent of the founders and tend to be outdated. Analysis using the three-lens agility framework allows for observing the birth and development of a firm. While each lens offers a distinct approach to analyse agility, together the lenses make up an integrated framework that provides insights on firm evolution and development.

Understanding the Impact of Covid-19 on MSMEs in India: Lessons for Resilient and Sustained Growth of Small Firms

The pandemic has raised an issue of survival for most of the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) because of their vulnerability in terms of size, limited financial resources, and inefficiency to deal with unpredicted situations. Therefore, the present study has adopted the contingency theory in times of change and uncertainties caused by COVID-19 on MSMEs and found out the ways to enhance its resilience and sustained the growth of this sector. This study has applied descriptive statistics and probit regression analysis to estimate the resilience and sustained growth of the firms through a change in the variables like turnover, labour employed, investment, and age of the firm. Based on the survey of 225 firms, the study observed that around 90 percent of surveyed firms realized a decline in their turnover with a 25 percent reduction in employment that mostly occur in the informal category. Interestingly, there was some increase in formal employment in around 50 percent of firms because of the business commitment of firms, shortage of informal workers, and availability of workers at lower wages. Smaller and younger firms in terms of employment and investment have a higher possibility to be affected by the external shocks indicating that the firm agility increases with firm age and size. Support measures by the government during the pandemic were found to be insufficient and have limited relevance to the MSME sector in its revival. For enhancing the resilience and sustainability of MSMEs, the study suggests small firms should be encouraged to financial planning against business uncertainties and proposes financial security measures viz. Uncertainty Corpus Fund for Small Businesses and Small Business Insurance.

Post covid-19 management: The strategic role of enterprise digitalization

The ongoing pandemic of Covid-19 disturbed the social and economic life. This virus has accelerated the firm’s digitalization and has created a situation of uncertainty about risks, strategies and best practices. On the bright side,Covid-19 has forced enterprises to operate in swiftly ways which revealed the firm agility and the great ability to adopt digitalization and remote working. This article concentrates on how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the functioning of companies and highlighted the critical role of digitalization. In doing so, this research paper address the current lack to integrate between strategic management, Covid-19 crisis and digital entrepreneurship.

Firms’ responses to a black swan macro-crisis: Should they be socially responsible or fiscally conservative?

The crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented as it adversely affected everyone and represented a black swan event. Firms implemented marketing strategies to counter its negative effects. Some took a socially responsible approach by making monetary and in-kind contributions to customers, employees, and nonprofits. Others took a fiscally conservative approach by instituting employee pay cuts, layoffs, furloughs, and executive compensation cuts. Considering the magnitude and unique nature of the crisis, there is an important need to determine whether responding to it was financially beneficial, and if so, to identify the superior strategic approach. We therefore conducted an event study of firms that announced new strategies in response to this black swan macro-crisis. We find that investors rewarded agile firms that took swift action. However, investors preferred firms that chose to focus on their own survival by reducing costs and preserving cash flow through fiscally conservative strategies.

How do institutional forces affect firm agility through organisational justice? Differences between Chinese and foreign firms in China

While institutional environment is increasingly affecting supply chains, the effects of institutional forces on firm agility remains largely unexplored. This paper integrates institutional theory with the organisational justice and agility literature to explore whether institutional forces (i.e. legal protection, the importance of guanxi, and government support) affect agility of local and foreign firms in China through organisational justice. Results from structural equation modelling of survey data from 241 manufacturers in China demonstrate that Chinese firms gained agility through procedural, distributive, and interactional justice created by the three institutional forces. Gaining less justice from all three institutional forces (especially guanxi), the agility of foreign firms relied on only distributive justice. Legal protection and guanxi worked for Chinese firms, whereas foreign firms are somewhat disadvantaged in this regard and relied mostly on government support to provide distributive justice for building agility.

Improving KIBS performance using digital transformation: study based on the theory of resources and capabilities

PurposeThe aim of this research is to analyze the success of digital transformation (DT) in the management and performance of organizations. To do so, the role of IT and its ability to integrate in organizations that provide professional services with high added value for their clients are investigated. These services require highly developed skills as they solve complex problems for the clients and this means that success depends on gathering knowledge from different sources (customers, public administrations and competitors). This study analyses the decisive and complementary role of IT in this process.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis combines quantitative and qualitative methods. After questioning managers of Spanish KIBS companies about certain components of DT, the gathered data are subsequently processed with PLS-SEM to establish causal relationships.FindingsThe results show that digital capability is the determinant of DT. It has a positive effect on the digital resources integrated in KIBS companies and on their organizational performances.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should continue to analyze other components of TD that drive the organizational performance of KIBS firms, such as technological culture or government policies that encourage digital transactions. The present study analyzes data from companies that are part of a single economic sector in Spain which may limit the conclusions drawn. It would be particularly useful to confirm the applicability of the results in companies operating in different markets to explore the direct relationship between digital capability and organizational performance.Practical implicationsThis research has implications for managers of KIBS companies, as it shows the high potential of the ability of IT to implement and manage a TD process. Managers can benefit from IT management practices using the appropriate tools (ERP, CRM and management software) to gain more knowledge of customer behavior with the possibility of easily codifying and analyzing the data, which significantly influences innovation activities. The objective is to develop a strong internal capability to absorb knowledge from day-to-day interactions with customers by using IT effectively. This process leads to an improvement in the organizational performance of KIBS companies, as they become more effective in decision making with improved internal communication, generate greater employee satisfaction and reach new customers. Following strategies aimed at the implementation and use of the technological resources studied creates more agile firms and helps to close the production gap between SMEs and large companies.Social implicationsThe results obtained can help create sustainable businesses through cloud-based technology tools. It can provide insights for policy makers to implement economic policies that help SMEs to become more competitive and sustainable.Originality/valueThe development of digital technologies and the ability to manage them is one of the decisive factors that conceptualizes DT and improves organizational performance. This research contributes to the understanding of the need for managers of KIBS companies to follow strategies oriented towards the digitization of their organizations and for the collaborators to have a high level of IT training, especially in the use of cloud technology.

Business analytics competencies in stabilizing firms’ agility and digital innovation amid COVID-19

Digital innovation is not a technology in itself but businesses’ ability to exploit digital technology to resolve outmoded problems. Digital innovation is leveraging improvements or innovating technology to reimagine business practice. The Coronavirus disease 2019 exerted enormous effects on people's physical and psychological health. In addition, this pandemic adversely affected the global economy, from sole proprietors to multinational firms. However, such an effect did not hinder versatile products, services, and upgraded versions of technologies. Modern firms rely heavily on available data sets to make decisions through analytics. Manufacturing is one of the most dynamic industries due to market pressures and continually changing customer demands. This study examines the relationship between business analytics competencies and digital innovation and explores the mediating role of absorptive capacity and firm agility. Data are collected from 493 managers of manufacturing firms and analyzed by using structural equation modeling through smart-PLS. Results reveal a positive relationship between business analytics competence and digital innovation mediated by absorptive capacity and firm agility. With its theoretical contributions, this study can initiate practical research outcomes in manufacturing firms.

The strategic role of firm agility in the relationship between IT capability and firm performance under the COVID-19 outbreak

PurposeLeveraging theory from the dynamic capability literature, this study aims to explore how information technology (IT) capability influences firm agility and subsequently translates into firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the proposed relationships by using survey data from a sample of 296 Chinese retail firms. Structural equation modeling is used to test this study’s hypotheses.FindingsThe following results are produced: the direct effect of IT capability on firm agility is confirmed; firm agility has a direct impact on firm performance; and the indirect effect of IT capability on firm performance via firm agility is demonstrated (i.e. partial mediation).Originality/valueThe catastrophic outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of firm agility more than ever. Although the traumatic event is painful, however, there is nothing like a crisis to offer a tremendous business opportunity. In response to the pandemic circumstance, firms are required to operate their business by reacting to unpredictable and dynamic market changes quickly and efficiently. This study sheds light on why firms should develop their IT capability and how it affects firm performance via firm agility during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Framework of Intellectual Capital-Based View in Improving Firm Agility

A hypercompetitive and unpredictable business environment requires companies to have resources that enable organizations to be proactive and responsive to the environment and improve organizational efficiency. By using library research methods, this paper tried to synthesize the theory of intellectual capital and resource-based view and then develop the indicators to be more specific. The results of the study showed that the dimensions of the intellectual capital-based view turned out as the support and guide for implementing agility in the company, and the firm agility will be more achievable if it has an intellectual capital-based view.

The impact of business analytics capabilities on innovation, information quality, agility and firm performance: the moderating role of industry dynamism

PurposeAs businesses keep investing substantial resources in developing business analytics (BA) capabilities, it is unclear how the performance improvement transpires as BA affects performance in many different ways. This paper aims to analyze how BA capabilities affect firms’ agility through resources like information quality and innovative capacity considering industry dynamism and the resulting impact on firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThis paper tested the research hypothesis using primary data collected from 192 companies operating in Bangladesh. The data were analyzed using partial least squares-based structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results indicate that BA capabilities improve business resources like information quality and innovative capacity, which, in turn, significantly impact a firm’s agility. This paper also found out that industry dynamism moderates the firms’ agility and, ultimately, firms’ performance.Practical implicationsThe contribution of this work provides insight regarding the role of business analytics capabilities in increasing organizational agility and performance under the moderating effects of industry dynamism.Originality/valueThe present research is to the best of the authors’ knowledge among the first studies considering a firm’s agility to explore the impact of BA on a firm’s performance in a dynamic environment. While previous researchers discussed resources like information quality and innovative capability, current research theoretically argues that these items are a leveraging point in a BA context to increase firm agility.

How can SMEs successfully navigate VUCA environment: The role of agility in the digital transformation era

Organizational agility, that is the ability to anticipate or respond quickly to external changes, is essential to survive and compete in today's turbulent landscape, characterized by technological advancements and digitalization. Research on capabilities that enable firms to be agile in the so called VUCA environments, is still nascent. Hence, it is important to explore the antecedents of firm agility and to identify the factors enabling them to better compete. Even more so in the case of SMEs, as they are more vulnerable in hypercompetitive business environments and, at the same time, agility has been less studied in this context. Focusing on SMEs, the study investigates three antecedents of agility, namely digital technologies capability, relational capability and innovation capability, and the effects of agility on three outcomes, namely financial performance, product, and process innovation. Our findings indicate that these capabilities contribute to build organizational agility in SMEs and that, in turn, agility has a positive impact on performance, thus confirming that agility contributes to the success of SMEs and that digital technologies play a central role in this process. Thus, it is of strategic importance for SMEs to increase their efforts to develop these capabilities to build enduring businesses. They should nurture a relational and innovative culture, as well as transform their business culture starting from digital technologies.

An Economic History of Regional Industrialization edited by Bas van Leeuwen, Robin C. M. Philips, and Erik Buyer

<i>An Economic History of Regional Industrialization</i> edited by Bas van Leeuwen, Robin C. M. Philips, and Erik Buyer

Boosting innovation performance through big data analytics: An empirical investigation on the role of firm agility

While past studies proposed the role of big data analytics (BDA) as one of the primary pathways to business value creation, current knowledge on the link between BDA and innovation performance remains limited. In this regard, this study intends to fill this research gap by developing a theoretical framework for understanding how and under which mechanisms BDA influences innovation performance. Firm agility (conceptualised as sensing agility, decision-making agility and acting agility) is used in this research as the mediator between BDA and innovation performance. Besides, this research conceptualises two moderating variables: data-driven culture and BDA team sophistication. This study employs partial least squares (PLS) to test and validate the proposed hypotheses using survey data of 185 firms. The results show that firm agility significantly mediates the link between BDA use and innovation performance. Besides, the results suggest that data-driven culture moderates the relation between sensing agility and decision-making agility. This research also supports the moderating role of BDA team sophistication on the link between BDA use and sensing agility.

Researchers compare agile and traditional approaches to project management in Russia’s services industry

Purpose The authors wanted to study the theme as there hasn’t been much research into the different factors for high performance in agile versus traditional companies. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a quantitative study of Russian professional services firms using structured phone interviews. They compared project-based companies using agile methods with rival firms that used more traditional methods. The questionnaire included questions on the role of HRM, the level of business strategy formalization, the use of strategies to enhance motivation and opportunities. There were also questions about agile frameworks and project management practices. The sample contained 154 companies, 61 of which used agile technologies. Findings They found that agile firms tend to rely more on HMR policies than traditional companies, especially on strategies to enhance motivation and opportunity. Agile companies also have more centralized HRM architectures with less delegation of different levels of management. Meanwhile, the results show that the HRM architectures for successful traditional firms are more diverse. HRM practices in these companies have different levels of importance and various degrees of decentralization and digitalization. Originality/value The authors say their study fills a gap because there hasn’t been much research into the different factors for high performance in agile versus traditional companies. The study, they say, has important theoretical and practical implications, and also provides evidence of the importance of HRM practices for organizational success.