The balancing act: Organizational agility in fast-growing international ventures

Abstract

Organizational agility (OA) is a prominent strategic goal considered to be a key to success, especially in conditions of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. In this paper, we flip the dominant research focus, that is, how to build or how to transform towards OA, to the under-investigated topic of how to maintain and weave it into the fabric of an organization. We draw on data from eight fast-growing B2B ventures that operate internationally. These companies may be considered revelatory for the study of OA, given that they outperform despite the inherent uncertainty and the liabilities of their new business, the complexity arising from a volatile international environment, and the internal turbulence resulting from their fast growth.

We build on a paradoxical lens to understand whether and how OA assists in engaging with alternative strategic demands – e.g. stability and change, local and global demand, short- and longer-term horizons, and respective resource allocation- that arise from their external and internal environment.

Theoretical contributions lie in a reconceptualization of OA that is ‘future-fit’ and supports fast growth over the long term, in a better understanding of growth drivers in entrepreneurial ventures, and with the identification and resolution of paradox in a new – fast-growth - context. For management practice, we offer advice regarding where and how to develop agility to continuously benefit from the ability to respond to internal and external change and avoid tensions in the future.