Zone 2 (organizational capabilities) evaluation in the agile literature review approach : what and how

Zone 2 (organizational capabilities) evaluation in the agile literature review approach (ALRA) : what and how:

Point 1: To evaluate a specific topic in Zone 2 (organizational capabilities), e.g. human resource management capability, innovation management capability, and brand management capability, the researcher needs the up-to-date knowledge to comprehend the environmental influences (both internal and external), notably the ones singled out in the theoretical framework level-0. Such knowledge enables identification of the more specific criteria to evaluate the chosen zone 2 topics.

Point 2: The evaluation of the topics in Zone 2 is done in the core competence lens (e.g., with usage of the VRIO analysis). Doing so endorses the strategic orientation of such an evaluation. The topics are primarily about the current capabilities of the topics concerned. [How to improve the capability of a zone 2 topic is a zone 3b topic]. Some evaluation questions are:

Question 1: what are the strengths and weaknesses of the existing capability under evaluation?

Question 2: how adequate is the existing capability in enabling the organization to cope with the opportunities and threats as identified in Zone 1 [environmental drivers]?

Question 3: what is the existing capability adequacy of the topic, which affects (i) the adequacy of other Zone 2 items, (ii) organizational outcomes, and (iii) organizational goal attainment? 

Question 4: how adequate is the organizational support from other items in Zone 2 which accounts for the existing strengths and weaknesses of the existing capability under evaluation? 

 

Point 3: Subsequently, the knowledge gained from the evaluation enables the researcher to assess: (i) the specific organizational outcomes, e.g. staff morale, financial performance,  (Zone 3a), including their current and expected status and (ii) the effectiveness of current and potential improvement initiatives (Zone 3b).

Point 4: the evaluation on a zone 2 topic should show awareness that such topic has also linkages to other topics in the theoretical framework level-0, as the whole theoretical framework is systemic in nature.