Agile Management Strategies: An Agile Insight Toward Change Management

1. Introduction

The necessity for change has escalated and acquired a heightened sense of urgency due to the increased level of upheaval witnessed in the business sector during the previous months, which have been characterized by the pandemic of COVID-19 and the global energy crisis, surpassing that observed in the preceding nine-year period of the economic crisis. The magnitude of the stakes has reached unprecedented levels, with many ongoing initiatives, necessitating a prompt implementation of adoption measures (Gagnon et al., 2023; Nguyen et al., 2023). The focus is more on resolving existential concerns within the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside the imminent demise of specific industries, rather than on making minor adjustments. However, it is not feasible to rely on traditional change management methods in the current context due to their inherent characteristics of lengthy timeframes, cumbersome procedures, and intricate implementation strategies (Castrellon et al., 2023; Noguera et al., 2018; Stauropoulou et al., 2023). The current need for change management necessitates a focus on expediency and adaptability. This will facilitate organizations in reassessing their product and service portfolios, reimagining their supply networks, undertaking substantial organizational transformation, promptly determining strategies for operating in a virtual environment, and initiating efforts to eliminate systematic racism. Therefore, it is important for organizations to consider the alterations to expedite and streamline the process of managing change resulting from crises.

Typically, the initial stage that firms ought to do is the establishment of a sense of urgency, commonly referred to as change management. Undoubtedly, the pandemic has facilitated the implementation of the approach above for organizations. Depending on the objectives pursued by an organization, it may opt to directly communicate a change vision. This entails presenting a convincing depiction of the company's envisioned future state, incorporating the guiding principles and values that will influence the intended audience, and outlining the specific actions that will be undertaken. While it is preferable to include detailed details in these statements, it is important for businesses to ensure that they can fulfil any commitments outlined in the vision for change. The subsequent phase in the operational framework of enterprises involves adhering to the tenets of agile management.

Therefore, this study serves as a foundation for potential future empirical investigations in the topic of change and agile management, which might validate the methodology proposed herein or contribute to the existing information presented in this chapter. Hence, the objective of this chapter is twofold: (i) to revise the change management guide by incorporating concepts and perspectives from agile management strategies, facilitating businesses in swiftly and effectively adapting to the evolving landscape, and (ii) to propose a set of strategies that combine the principles of both agile and change management, enabling businesses to navigate the complexities of the contemporary environment. To address the study inquiry, a bibliometric analysis was conducted utilizing the R software. Databases such as Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and Google Scholar offer consolidated collections of scholarly literature data that may be utilized for research of this nature. The data utilized for the present paper was derived from Scopus, namely from the dataset collected in February 2023.

The results of the bibliometric research indicate that agile management is not just seen as a mechanism for expediting the execution of change and introducing innovations to the market ahead of competitors. The concept of perceiving it as a strategic asset and a source of competitive advantage has been widely acknowledged. Agile management may be regarded as a paradigm shift in thinking and behavior, wherein the ideas of change management can be integrated. The focus of this endeavor is to advance the creation of a novel business framework commonly referred to as Agile Change Management (Sippl et al., 2022). The suggested business model posits that there is a rationale for change management professionals to incorporate an agile framework into a traditional strategy. Hence, it is imperative to adopt a more agile approach to change management, incorporating agile change management approaches inside the framework of an agile project management development lifecycle.

The current chapter is organized as follows: