Paving the way for progress in employee agility research: a systematic literature review and framework

Troubled by increasing uncertainty in the business environment, many organizations have a strong need to become agile. There are indications that agility-oriented characteristics of employees, often referred to as “workforce agility”, play a key role in this regard. This paper systematically reviews the academic literature on employee agility, with an emphasis on conceptualization, operationalization, and the special role of human resource management (HRM) in shaping it. Our study finds that construct clarity, theoretical foundation, and rigor in operationalization are not yet well established, and that the role of HRM is under-researched. In order to pave the way for future research, we clarify the understanding of the employee agility concept and suggest a new definition resulting from our theoretical discussion. We embed this conceptualization in a newly suggested framework which is rooted in the work stressor framework. It links employee agility to the job demands of a dynamic environment, and outlines the role of flexibility-promoting HR practices. As such, we explicitly refer to a dynamic lens on person-environment (P-E) fit theory. Furthermore, through the suggested conceptualization of employee agility and the theory-based framework, we amplify existing theory. Based on our findings, we draw up an encompassing agenda for future research.