Thriving in turbulent environments through adaptive forms of organizing

Abstract

PurposeThis paper explores how adaptive organizations, companies capable of continuously adapting their organizational model, dynamically solve the universal problems of organizing.Design/methodology/approachThe authors applied grounded theory to data acquired from six interpretative case studies, collected in two rounds of interviews (15 in total), then completing and validating the study’s evidence through triangulation with several secondary data sources.FindingsIn adaptive organizations, polyarchies and intrapreneurial employees are essential to shape the division of labour, leading to high levels of autonomy and empowering individuals and teams, while reducing bureaucracy and hierarchy. In terms of the integration of effort, digital solutions are preferred to social proof in the provision of information, while the authors note that incentives are always geared towards developing strong higher-order dynamic capabilities.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper has some limitations that could be addressed in future research, including longitudinal studies to analyse the link between the universal problems of organizing and a company's dynamic capabilities.Practical implicationsAdaptive organizations go beyond tech firms in responding to the universal problems of organizing work by making specific use of digital technologies.Originality/valueThe paper studies how companies should organize themselves so that they continuously adapt to an ever-changing competitive environment.

Emerging trends around strategic flexibility: a systematic review supported by bibliometric techniques

“…Brozovic et al (2023) focus on how to achieve SF in the SME context, finding that a high strategic orientation, mainly in terms of entrepreneurial and market orientation, high innovation and digitalization capabilities, and changing leadership and organizational culture promote SF. Marchese et al (2023), through a multicase study research based on the DC perspective, confirm that digital technologies seem to support adaptive organizations, not only SMEs, but also larger firms. Contrarily, Marrucci et al (2023) investigate antecedents of Industry 4.0 implementation, finding that organizational agility and SF play a fundamental role.…”

“…Moreover, related to the different constructs coming into play, a distinction between digital technologies and digitalization should be made, because digital technologies may contribute to be more adaptive, as suggested by Marchese et al (2023), but then, in turn, being more flexible or agile could help taking advantage of digital technologies "to enable major business improvements to augment customer experience, streamline operations, or create new business models" (Warner and W€ ager, 2019), which reflects digitalization.…”