Leveraging organisational energy to improve performance

Abstract

The objective of this research was to gain insight into the key drivers of productive organisational energy and to determine whether there is a relationship between productive organisational energy and high performance in organisations. This study also aimed to identify key measures of success of organisations. Organisational energy has a critical role to play in driving both people behaviour and innovation in organisations, ultimately providing a competitive advantage.Both a quantitative and qualitative analysis was conducted on the data collected from four case study organisations, comprising a total sample size of 47 respondents. The research consisted of three phases. Phase One, which made use of an open-ended qualitative survey, was directed at industry experts who were required to identify and recommend four small- to medium- sized high-energy information technology organisations to be considered for this research. Phase Two consisted of gaining approval to conduct research within four of the recommended case study organisations, and conducting an open-ended exploratory face-to-face interview with each Managing Director, with the objective of determining the success, energy state, key drivers, and performance measures of the organisations, as well as the factors that drive the energy of staff. Furthermore, each Managing Director completed the same self-administered questionnaire that formed the basis of Phase Three. This structured survey was used to gather the perceptions and opinions of each organisation’s staff members in determining: the energy state of the organisation, the key drivers of organisational energy, and the link between organisation energy and performance. Statistical analysis techniques were used to determine whether significant relationships exist between the drivers of organisational energy and their respective rankings; and between organisational energy and organisational performance.The study provided evidence that intrapreneurial orientation, collective identity, employee investment and leadership are the most significant drivers of productive organisational energy and confirmed the existence of a significant relationship between productive organisational energy and high performance organisations. Through this research, a model has been developed that can be utilised by leaders of organisations to leverage organisational energy in order to improve and measure organisational performance, thereby creating a sustainable competitive advantage.