1. ¹Goizueta Business School – Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
2. ²School of Information Systems – Singapore Management University, Singapore
3. ³Eli Broad College of Business – Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

Correspondence: Eric Overby, Goizueta Business School – Emory University, 1300 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30318, USA. Tel: +1 404 727 3570; Fax: +1 404 727 2874; E-mail: eric_overby@bus.emory.edu

Received 18 May 2005; Revised 19 June 2005; Accepted 9 January 2006.

Abstract

In turbulent environments, enterprise agility, that is, the ability of firms to sense environmental change and respond readily, is an important determinant of firm success. We define and deconstruct enterprise agility, delineate enterprise agility from similar concepts in the business research literature, explore the underlying capabilities that support enterprise agility, explicate the enabling role of information technology (IT) and digital options, and propose a method for measuring enterprise agility. The concepts in this paper are offered as foundational building blocks for the overall research program on enterprise agility and the enabling role of IT.