Universität zu Köln

Weidlich, Mareike (2024). Exploring the Effects of Agile Transformations on Leadership. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

Over the past three decades agile software development (ASD) methodologies have continuously gained popularity and effectively reshaped the way that organizations approach software development. Organizations embraced those principles and practices to become more adaptable and enable prompt responses to changing circumstances and requirements. While ASD methodologies had initially been targeted at small, innovative, high-performing software development teams, they have long reached a multitude of organizations across all sectors and are often applied across departments and business functions. One fundamental mechanism of ASD is the creation of empowered teams to solve problems, self-organize, and continuously improve. As organizations with established hierarchies and siloed department structures increasingly adopt ASD methodologies, they often notice a clash between the old world and the new world. To mitigate those challenges, organizations engage in so-called agile transformations. One major aspect of this transformation is the adaption of leadership structures and processes to enable ASD teams to be empowered. Empowerment implies that many responsibilities that were formerly assumed by managers now rest with team members, which fundamentally changes the role of those managers. Until now, we have little insight into how to adapt leadership structures and processes in agile transformations. This dissertation is composed in a cumulative style comprising three independent but interrelated studies that each contribute a part to answering the overarching research question: how do agile transformations shape leadership structures and processes in organizations? The three research projects (1) explore and measure employees’ preferences and perceptions of agile transformations, (2) summarize the current body of knowledge and introduce agile leadership as a dual concept combining both team-internal and -external perspectives, and (3) observe, analyze, and conceptualize team-external management, contextual factors, and the effects on team empowerment. In sum, this dissertation offers insights into an agile transformation and its effects on how organizations implement leadership in and around ASD teams. It thereby brings us a step closer to understanding the complex interplay of ASD teams and managers which remains one of the major challenges of agile transformations.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Weidlich, Mareike mareike.weidlich@gmail.com UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-746654
Date:	2024
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences > Business Administration > Information Systems > Professorship for Integrated Information Systems
Subjects:	Management and auxiliary services
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Agile Software Development English Agile Transformation English Leadership English
Date of oral exam:	15 November 2024
Referee:	Name Academic Title Rosenkranz, Christoph Prof. Dr.
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/74665