AGILE ЯК УПРАВЛІНСЬКА ІННОВАЦІЯ В ПРОЄКТНОМУ МЕНЕДЖМЕНТІ: МЕЖІ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ТА РИЗИКИ ІМІТАЦІЙНОГО ВПРОВАДЖЕННЯ

Artem Revenko; Yevhenii Selishchev; Yuliia Matvieieva; Viktoriia Sulym

doi:10.32782/2308-1988/2026-58-113

Artem Revenko Sumy State University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8854-2386
Yevhenii Selishchev Sumy State University https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3558-2167
Yuliia Matvieieva Sumy State University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3082-5551
Viktoriia Sulym Sumy State University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9114-068X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2308-1988/2026-58-113

Keywords: Agile, managerial innovation, project management, imitative implementation, limits of effectiveness, organizational transformation, strategic coordination, behavioral barriers

Abstract

Agile is increasingly positioned not only as a set of project management and software development techniques, but as a managerial innovation intended to transform organizational coordination, decision-making processes, and value creation under conditions of high uncertainty and strategic turbulence. However, the growing gap between the declared innovative nature of Agile and the actual managerial and economic outcomes of its large-scale implementation raises fundamental questions regarding the limits of its effectiveness and the mechanisms of its degeneration in contemporary organizations. The results demonstrate that the creation of managerial and economic value through Agile does not depend on the formal adoption of iterative practices, but on the depth of transformation of coordination mechanisms, authority distribution and accountability structures. Three fundamental mechanisms of managerial value degeneration are identified. The first mechanism consists in institutional imitation and ritualization of agile practices driven by legitimacy pressures and managerial fashion. The second mechanism is associated with behavioral barriers, including loss aversion, cognitive inertia and status-quo bias. The third mechanism reflects the breakdown of formal strategic coordination without the formation of mature self-organization institutions, resulting in a governance vacuum. A conceptual notion of imitative Agile is proposed as a form of managerial innovation that loses its transformative capacity through the combined effects of formalization, behavioral constraints and governance breakdown. The practical implications of the study consist in the development of a diagnostic framework for identifying imitative agile transformations, assessing the limits of Agile effectiveness, and designing more sustainable transformation models that account for managerial incentives, behavioral factors and strategic governance architecture. The findings contribute to a deeper theoretical understanding of managerial innovation under uncertainty and provide guidance for reducing the risks of ineffective agile transformations in complex organizational contexts.

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AGILE AS A MANAGERIAL INNOVATION IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT: LIMITS OF EFFECTIVENESS AND RISKS OF IMITATIVE IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

References