Evaluating organizational agility in banking industry through data envelopment analysis: a case study of banks in Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to provide a model for evaluating organizational agility in the banking industry in Isfahan using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. Design/methodology/approach This research’s population consists of selected first-class branches of Saderat, Melli, Shahr, Maskan, Keshavarzi, Refah and Tejarat banks. Five branches of each bank and Bank Shahr as a newly established bank with two branches were included in the study. First, a suitable DEA model was selected and then agility inputs and outputs for designing the model were extracted from the literature. The selected model is an output-oriented returns to scale model. Inputs were agility enablers extracted from the A.T. Kearney model, whereas agility results were considered as the output. Findings The results showed that of the 32 selected branches, 4 were efficient and 28 were inefficient. In the end, the efficient branches were ranked using the Anderson–Peterson ranking model. Originality/value This study tries to provide a model for evaluating the efficiency of bank branches in terms of agility (relative agility) through the DEA technique, considering inputs and outputs of the organizational agility system. Accordingly, the managers can identify the efficiency of bank branches and also they can improve the inefficiency of bank branches.