Eintrag in der Universitätsbibliographie der TU Chemnitz
Volltext zugänglich unter
URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:ch1-qucosa2-978105
Introducing an Integrated Model of Individual Agility: Agile Practicing, Agile Learning, and Agile Thinking in the Workplace
Kurzfassung in englisch
Today’s business environment is increasingly marked by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). To stay competitive in VUCA environments, organizations are increasingly implementing agility into their business models. Agility as the ability to sense and respond to change has gained remarkable popularity and is increasingly used across various industries. Previous research, predominantly originating from technical and software fields, usually focused on specific parts, like the implementation of agile practices (e.g., Scrum or Kanban). In the literature, however, agility is often described as a holistic framework that encompasses various dimensions within an organization. It changes work systems by prioritizing people over processes and promotes a shift towards people-centric values and communication. Agility influences organizational dynamics as it challenges employees’ ways of thinking, learning, and behaving.This dissertation adopts a psychological perspective to the study of agility by focusing on the experiences of individuals in organizations. Individual agility is defined as an employee's skillset to proactively recognize change and adapt as needed. The overall research objective is to create a more holistic understanding of individual agility in the workplace. Therefore, this dissertation introduces an integrated model of individual agility that presents individual agility as a competitive advantage for organizations in today's VUCA environment. In this model, individual agility is categorized into three agile facets: (1) agile practicing, (2) agile learning, and (3) agile thinking. Three empirical field studies—one per agile facet— investigate their relations to employees’ affective, behavioral, and cognitive workplace outcomes. Each study addresses the overall research objective of this dissertation by shedding light on one facet of individual agility and its impact on workplace outcomes. Additionally, each study serves a specific objective within its respective facet of individual agility: exploring mediating and boundary conditions in agile practicing (Study 1); fostering the integration of agile learning into occupational literature (Study 2); and validating agile thinking within organizational psychology (Study 3).
Study 1 contributes to the overall research objective, by analyzing the relation between agile project management (i.e., agile practicing) and emotional exhaustion at work (affective outcome). Two field studies (Study 1a and 1b), each with a two-wave design (N = 307), found a negative relation between agile project management and emotional exhaustion. Regarding the study-specific objectives, namely, mediating and boundary conditions, higher levels of agile project management had significant negative indirect effects on emotional exhaustion via lower levels of work-related stress as a mediator. This indirect effect was significantly stronger for higher levels of a culture for psychological empowerment as a moderator. Contrary to the hypotheses, social competence and perceived team support had no moderating effects in this mediation process.
Study 2 addresses the overall research objective, by exploring the effects of Working Out Loud (i.e., WOL as an agile learning method) on three workplace outcomes: vigor (affective outcome), WOL behavior (behavioral outcome), and psychological empowerment (cognitive outcome). An intervention study (N = 507) with three measurement points—before WOL (pre), after WOL (post), and six months later (follow-up)—found an increase in participants’ WOL behavior and psychological empowerment at work both in the short- (pre/post) and long-term (pre/follow-up). Contrary to the hypothesis, there was no effect of WOL on participants’ vigor at work. In light of the study-specific objective, namely, to foster the integration of agile learning into research, four meta-principles for agile learning were introduced: self-direction, iteration, collaboration, and technology.
Study 3 adds to the overall research objective, by investigating the relation between the agile mindset (i.e., agile thinking) and four workplace outcomes: performance and innovative work behavior (behavioral outcomes), as well as vigor and emotional exhaustion (affective outcomes). A two-wave study (N = 411) tested the factorial, discriminant, and incremental validity of the agile mindset. In the individual analysis, significant effects between the agile mindset and all four workplace outcomes were found, with positive relations to performance, innovative work behavior, and vigor, as well as a negative relation to emotional exhaustion. Addressing the study-specific objective, namely, validating the agile mindset as a new construct, the effects were controlled for well-established psychological constructs. Results showed that enhancing the agile mindset can positively affect performance and innovative work behavior, beyond the influence of core self-evaluation, proactive personality, and prevention vs. promotion focus. Concerning affective outcomes, only a positive relationship for vigor when controlling for prevention vs. promotion focus was found, while the effect on emotional exhaustion diminished.
Taken together, the findings of this dissertation provide valuable insights into a more holistic understanding of individual agility in the workplace by introducing an integrated model of individual agility with three agile facets: (1) agile practicing, (2) agile learning, and (3) agile thinking. This systematic categorization facilitates a comprehensive examination of various facets of individual agility and enables a more nuanced understanding of its mechanisms within organizational dynamics. Three empirical field studies examine the impact of individual agility on a broad range of workplace outcomes. Across different methodological approaches—two-wave study, intervention study, validation of a new construct—individual agility shows desirable effects on workplace outcomes, leading to competitive advantages for organizations. The insights of this dissertation form an initial foundation for future research aiming to understand the complex and holistic role of individual agility. From a practical viewpoint, the results are particularly useful for organizations that want to improve their competitiveness through agility in today’s VUCA environment.
| Universität: | Technische Universität Chemnitz | |
| Fakultät: | Fakultät für Human- und Sozialwissenschaften | |
| Dokumentart: | Dissertation | |
| Betreuer: | Meyer, Bertolt (Prof. Dr.) ; Schermuly, Carsten C. (Prof. Dr.) | |
| DOI: | doi:10.60687/2025-0131 | |
| SWD-Schlagwörter: | Beweglichkeit |
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| Freie Schlagwörter (Englisch): | Agility , Learning , Mindset | |
| DDC-Sachgruppe: | Psychologie | |
| Sprache: | englisch | |
| Tag der mündlichen Prüfung | 30.06.2025 |
