ABSTRACT Although innovation portfolio management (IPM) and agility are central to managing portfolio sustainability, we know little about how strategic actors can control the innovation portfolio to do so. Although strategic actors must address both portfolio sustainability and economic portfolio performance, the literature tends to investigate both consequences of IPM in separation. Moreover, research tends to conceptualize agility as a higher‐level ability to sense and react to changes, ignoring how strategic actors use agility for target‐oriented steering of innovation portfolios. In response, this study investigates the following research questions: How can an agile approach to the levers of control be conceptualized and measured? How does agile control relate to both portfolio sustainability and performance? We synthesized the literature on sustainability, agility, and the levers of control in IPM to develop a novel conceptualization of agile control. Agile control refers to formal mechanisms that strategic actors use to direct attention, motivate, and encourage others to innovate with a strict customer focus while adapting flexibly and quickly to changes. Further, based on a four‐step scale development process encompassing four distinct samples, we identified, purified, validated, and tested a new measurement instrument for agile control in IPM. Results of an additional analysis show that agile control is positively related to portfolio sustainability and performance. Therefore, we contribute to and extend research on sustainability, agility, and levers of control in IPM. Managerial Summary Firms are encouraged to adopt agile control in innovation portfolio management (IPM). Agile control fosters continuous interaction across hierarchical levels, enhances employee motivation, and ensures innovation efforts remain aligned with both customer needs and sustainability objectives. To address environmental pressures such as regulatory change, increased transparency demands, and knowledge gaps, firms should embed sustainability principles directly into their IPM practices. Practitioners can benefit from using our agile control measurement scale to assess their current capabilities. This diagnostic tool enables firms to identify constraints, benchmark strategies, and implement targeted improvements. These practices contribute not only to firm‐level improvements but also to broader industry transformation. As organizations develop and market more environmentally sustainable innovations, they help raise awareness among customers and set new standards within their sectors. Over time, this can lead to a self‐reinforcing cycle of sustainability, where innovation drives continuous improvement in both environmental impact and long‐term business success.
Müller et al. (Wed,) studied this question.