ABSTRACT
Interest in organizational agility (OA) and organizational improvisation (OI) has grown steadily over time. This chapter reviews 240 articles, monographs, and book chapters published between 1982 and 2022 across multiple management disciplines, including strategy, information systems, organizational behavior, organization theory, marketing, innovation studies, project management, and operations management to offer the first systematic review of the similarities, differences, and relationships between the two concepts. We first show that OA and OI are distinct, yet complementary, with the strategic preparedness for unforeseen events of OA standing in contrast to the purposeful spontaneity of OI. Second, a discussion of the dynamic capabilities approach to OA in view of the OI literature highlights situations when OI conditions OA. Alternatively, a review of the strategic approach to OA in light of the OI literature identifies cases when OA may be a prerequisite to OI. We show that the relationship between the two concepts is iterative, with OA and OI acting as antecedents or outcomes of one another at various points in time, and highlight the association of OA and OI to creativity and innovation.
