The Operation Mechanism of an Agile Organization in the Digital Era: A case Study from the Social Media Perspective

There is a need to deeply summarize the operating mechanism of organizations that fought against the COVID-19 pandemic. During the outbreak of the pandemic, a large number of non-profit organizations coordinated the donations of medical materials needed badly by frontline medical professionals. However, how did these organizations operate in the emergent situation after all? Summary of their practical mechanism needs to be deepened. Taking the Gu Dian organization that fought against the COVID-19 outbreak as a case, as the organization coordinated medical material donations, the present study is directed by the framework of an agile organization in the digital era. The research summarizes the agile management mechanism of the non-profit organization that served during the pandemic, and analyzes the effect of digital tools on the non-profit organization. The results show: 1) the operation of Gu Dian organization can be explained quite well by the framework of an agile organization in the digital era, and the case supplements important information for the framework; 2) social media affordances supported the establishment and operation of Gu Dian organization. The results summarize the agile management mechanism of organizations that coordinated the donations during the pandemic, which provide professional implications for organizations to operate fast and effectively in face of emergent disasters.