Theoretical and Practical Aspects of Developing Agile Enterprises

Abstract

Given the growing importance of agility in contemporary organisations, it is imperative to investigate how to understand the characteristics of the agile enterprise. The aim of this article is thus to identify entrepreneurial behaviour in an agile enterprise and the strategic implications of agility. This paper draws on entrepreneurship and strategic management literature and a case study. The paper first examines the context of entrepreneurship and it then moved on to discuss the attributes of an agile enterprise. Then the issue under discussion is illustrated through a case study of Hortimex, an eminent representative of the leading food additives manufacturers in Poland. The findings of this case highlight the characteristics of agile enterprise in a contemporary business environment. It shows that attributes namely entrepreneurial resourcefulness and strategic leadership help to enhance the capability of a firm to compete in an increasingly intensified business environment.