Professional identity as a barrier to agile management adoption in algerian public administration: the IBAM model
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51247/st.v9i3.902Keywords:
agile management; professional identity; performative compliance; public sector reformAbstract
This study aimed to examine whether professional identity constitutes a direct and indirect barrier to agile management adoption among Algerian civil servants and to develop the Identity Barrier to Agility Model (IBAM) as an empirically grounded explanatory framework. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. Data were collected from 384 civil servants across five Algerian provinces through a standardized questionnaire using multi-stage stratified random sampling. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapped mediation analyses based on 5,000 resamples was applied to test the proposed model, while 24 semi-structured interviews provided qualitative contextualization of the quantitative findings. The results revealed high levels of professional identity and substantial resistance to agile management adoption. Performative compliance emerged as the dominant form of resistance. SEM analysis demonstrated that professional identity exerted a significant direct effect on agility resistance and indirect effects through routine attachment, fear of privilege loss, and agile self-efficacy deficits. The model explained 58.1% of the variance in resistance. Leadership support significantly weakened the relationship between professional identity and resistance, although it did not eliminate it. Senior executives reported the highest levels of performative compliance despite displaying lower overt resistance. The study concludes that professional identity functions as a multidimensional barrier to agile management adoption in Algerian public administration. Resistance is expressed primarily through performative compliance rather than explicit opposition, suggesting that reform evaluations based solely on visible adoption indicators may underestimate underlying resistance dynamics
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