The evolution of studies on information technology and organizational agility: a bibliometric analysis

A evolução dos estudos sobre tecnologia da informação e agilidade organizacional: uma análise bibliométrica

Abstract:

Studies on information technology and organizational agility has shown significant growth since the beginning of 2014, which may be an indicator that this theme is beginning to mature in the concerned literature, and increasingly has become the subject of researchers. In view of the presented scenario, the objective of this study is to introduce a synthesis of the literature panorama of the relation between the focused two constructs in the last years. The author (s) chose to employ a bibliometric analysis to understand the evolution of studies on that relation. We concluded that in the United States there is a great concentration of research on this subject, and the most recent publications, in general, occurred in relevant management and information management system journals. The identified studies mainly concentrate on the causal relationship between information technology (IT) and organizational agility from three perspectives: (1) the direct effect of IT capabilities on agility, (2) the moderating effect of IT capabilities on the relationship between other organizational capabilities and organizational agility, and (3) the indirect effect of IT on organizational agility mediated by other organizational capabilities. In addition, it was possible to identify organizational agility connected with three aspects: sensitivity, decision and responsiveness. Another contribution of the study is the construction of a framework based on the main study samples and the most recurrent keywords. It is possible to detect the three levels of analysis in the relation between the two previously mentioned constructs, besides bringing out the definitions used for each construct. An opportunity for future studies is to evaluate the taxonomy identified for organizational agility.

Keywords:
Information technology; Organizational agility; Bibliometric study