The 5S organizational agility framework: a dynamic capabilities perspective

Abstract

Although there is widespread agreement that organizational agility is increasingly becoming critical to achieving sustained competitive advantage, there is little consensus on what exactly constitutes organizational agility, or how it may be assessed and improved. The purpose of this paper is to contribute toward operationalization of the organizational agility construct through a high-level conceptual framework grounded in dynamic capabilities. This is a conceptual paper that presents a new organizational agility framework, which draws from, and builds on, the existing literature. This paper defines organizational agility as rapid, continuous and systematic evolutionary adaptation and entrepreneurial innovation directed at gaining and/or maintaining competitive advantage. The 5S Organizational Agility Framework proposes five dynamic capabilities (sensing, searching, seizing, shifting, and shaping) underpinning organizational agility. The framework presented in this paper contributes toward operationalization of the organizational agility construct.