Agile Mindset, Technological vs. Non-technological Mindset, and Gender. Are They Related?

Abstract

This study examined the impact of gender on the relationship between employees' agile and non-agile mindsets and organizational agility. It also considers the tech and non-tech focus as a potential moderator. The initial sample of 209 knowledge workers and the replication sample of 401 knowledge workers were applied to analyze the above relations using OLS regression by SPSS PROCESS. The results showed that the most critical factor influencing organizational agility is the agile mindset of employees. Furthermore, the female effect is much stronger than that observed for men in the specialists' group. For the managers group, only the men's impact is significant, and this effect is substantial. Furthermore, results show that while an agile mindset supports organizational agility, a non-agile mindset jeopardizes it. The negative impact of a non-agile mindset on organizational agility is confirmed for men with tech and non-tech-oriented mindsets. However, this effect is stronger for non-technological ones. This means that technology works as a kind of mind stimulus. The technological focus is the agility driver, but it does not determine an agile mindset. The direct implication of this research for organizations aiming to be agile is to hire agile-mindset staff, care about agile-minded staff, and avoid employing people with a non-agile mindset. Regarding gender, this study revealed that female IT specialists are more agile than their male counterparts. However, male managers profoundly impact organizational agility. We still do not know how female managers impact agility in the IT sector. To find out, we need to employ a purposive sample. It is because neither a random nor a convenient sample reflecting the IT employee population would work for this purpose.