A New Perspective on Organizational Agility: System-Wide Planned Change Process Agility

Abstract

System-wide planned change efforts serve as tools for firms facing threats to their foundational survival and success. One of the often-desired outcomes of organizational change is the ability for firms to be more agile. Organizational agility can better position a firm to recognize and react to changes in their competitive environment in a timely manner. This exploration focuses on a missing element, the agility of the system-wide planned change process. The article presents a framework to examine the agility of the planned change process and evaluates the process agility of five system-wide planned change approaches. The framework includes five process agility dimensions: tempo and pacing; decision speed and closure; routine flexibility; improvisation and learning capacity; and emotional and cultural enablers. The value of planned change process agility to both researchers and practitioners is explored, and avenues for further study are offered.