Measuring organizational responsiveness: the development of a validated survey instrument

Purpose – The paper aims to develop the survey utilized in this research as a data collection tool for the study of organizational responsiveness. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing from the operations and strategic management literature, measurement scales were developed in order to empirically test five proposed enablers of organizational responsiveness: environmental scanning, strategic planning, flexible manufacturing infrastructures, supply chain governance mechanisms, and multi‐skilled workers. Findings – The survey produced a total of 66 responses from 59 companies in three industries: automotive suppliers, instrumentation equipment, and semiconductor components. Three of the five enablers were found to be bi‐dimensional, which produced a survey instrument with eight separate measurement scales. Coefficient alpha was observed to be within the acceptable range for all construct scales and factor analysis confirmed unidimensionality for each construct. Research limitations/implications – The survey instrument presented in this paper provides a better understanding of the processes that enable organizational responsiveness. This measurement scale will serve as a tool that will allow future researchers to more accurately operationalize the enablers of organizational responsiveness. Practical implications – The ability of firms to quickly respond to changes in their external environment is a primary determinant of firm performance. This research provides important practical implications for firms wishing to maximize their levels of agility and flexibility in responding to changing environmental conditions. Originality/value – Few measurement scales currently exist that can be utilized to measure and predict rates of organizational responsiveness. The survey instrument developed as part of this research provides important insights into various organizational factors that enable organizational responsiveness.