Agile transformation in uncertain times: exploring diffusion strategies and organisational maturity

The turbulent and dynamic environment in which organisations are evolving today forces them to adapt in a timely manner and strengthen their resilience. Agility represents one of the recognised capacities to reach that resilience in a VUCA environment. However, consensus is not yet reached regarding how to become agile, and which ‘agility’ better matches the organisation’s needs and trajectory. Based on a qualitative exploratory approach of 15 expert narratives, dominantly from IT field, this study seeks to answer how does the adoption of agility in companies operating in uncertain business environments affect and reflect their level of organisational maturity. The research analyses the variety of strategies used by organisations to embrace agility and how these strategies correlate with levels of organisational maturity. Utilising New Institutional Theory (NIT) – a widely acknowledged framework in modern social sciences – this research uncovers the agility triggers in the organisation. Moreover, the findings highlight a continuum to agile organisation of three stages. The research also takes a fresh look at the concept of maturity. Maturity in the context of agile transformation lies a convergence point that reflects a global coherence in the system: the individual, the collective, the organisational, as well as the external, that of the organisations implementing agile practices.