Investigating the role of social networking technology on the organizational agility: a structural equation modeling approach

Purpose - The current extensive business ecosystem, characterized by technological advances and development, impressive customers, and increasing social concerns, has exerted great pressure on business organizations. Among different business values for affording this pressure, organizational agility is a critical factor that should be carefully incorporated in business processes. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of social networking technology, as a crucial collaborative tool, on organizational agility. Design/methodology/approach - A model based on structural equations was designed in this regard. The constructs of this model are quality of service, varieties of services, costs and speed of service as independent variables and also agility management as a dependent variable. Based on the conceptual model, a questionnaire was prepared and distributed among the experts of social networking technology and agility management. Based on Cochran's formula the sample size was 384. The response rate was 100%. The main statistical measures such as Chi-square ratio to the degree of freedom, Non-soft Fitness Index (RMSEA), Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) and Modified fitness index (AGFI) were employed for analyzing the model. Findings - Results of obtained data indicated that a variety of services as the main factor of social networking technology has the most impact on the agility of a company. Then, the speed of service, service quality and costs were ranked respectively in second to fourth. Providing information technology (IT) service perceptions, promoting the service climate and thorough identification of IT requirements are the main critical success factors for maintaining a robust impact of social networking technology on organizational agility. Moreover, a well-designed enterprise structure alongside employing newly developed IT infrastructures such as cloud computing certainly improves the capabilities of organizations to improve their agility. Originality/value - Although the literature suggests a positive impact among IT or social networks on organizational agility, it is deficient in relation to considering the impact of social networking. Furthermore, a structural equation model (SEM) is used for assessing unobservable latent constructs and their related interrelationship.