Organisational agility for new industrial marketing management models in turbulent times

Abstract

In an era of systemic disruption and rapid technological change, organisational agility is a strategic imperative for business-to-business (B2B) firms. This special issue brings together ten studies that examine how agility is conceptualised, enacted, and sustained across diverse B2B settings. Agility thus emerges as a multidimensional capability encompassing strategic sensing, digital transformation, inclusive leadership, and inter-organisational collaboration. The articles also explore how generative and agentic artificial intelligence (AI) reshape agility by enabling adaptive decision-making, ecosystem orchestration, and new forms of human–AI collaboration. From AI-driven ecosystems in Australasia to agile supply chains in Africa and leadership responses in Europe, the articles reflect the global diversity of agile practices. This editorial synthesises key insights and outlines seven directions for future research: (1) agility-sustainability integration, (2) digital transformation and agility, (3) leadership agility and capability development, (4) ecosystem-level agility using agentic AI, (5) human-cantered agility in the age of generative and agentic AI, (6) the temporal evolution of agility in AI-augmented organisations, and (7) responsible and context-aware agility in the age of generative and agentic AI. Together, these contributions reposition agility as a proactive, ethically grounded enabler of innovation, resilience, and inclusive growth in industrial marketing.