Organic structure and organisational learning as the main antecedents of workforce agility

Abstract

Studies on agility in the workplace have focused excessively on technical factors, and little attention has been given to the workforce. Most studies on workforce agility are conceptual and have a notable absence of quantitative modelling and analysis. In the study, a theoretical model of the impact of two organisational characteristics, namely organisational learning and an organic structure (with three dimensions, which are decentralisation of decision-making, low formalisation and a flat structure), on workforce agility was developed and empirically tested. Several small- and medium-sized enterprises in Iran were investigated. The structural equation modelling showed that organisational learning and only the decentralisation of decision-making and a flat structure were positively and significantly correlated with workforce agility. The impact of the dimensions of an organic structure on organisational learning was also considered. Based on the results, we proposed a process model on workforce agility.

Keywords:

• workforce agility
• organic structure
• decentralisation of decision-making
• flat structure
• low formalisation
• organisational learning

Notes

1. Here, we refer to practical or experimental research that is based on real organisations and actual data.

2. Average Variance Extracted, .