p.52 The central question of this chapter is: What are the contributing factors that require business agility, and what IT strategies can be implemented for enhancing business agility?

p.53 Wadhwa and Rao (2003) describe the differences and overlap between flexibility and agility. Flexibility is defined as a predetermined response to a predictable change, while agility entails an innovative response to an unpredictable change.

p.53 Agility is a way to cope with external and internal changes, which are highly uncertain. Three types of perceived uncertainty can be distinguished: state uncertainty, effect uncertainty, and response uncertainty (Milliken, 1987). State uncertainty relates to unpredictability about whether or when a certain change will happen. Effect uncertainty relates to the inability to predict what the nature of the impact (i.e., effects) of a change will be to the organization... Response uncertainty is defined as a lack of knowledge of response options and/or an inability to predict the likely consequences of a response choice.

p.53 Dove (2001) highlights the importance of both sensing capabilities (detecting, anticipating) and responding capabilities (physical ability to act rapidly and with relative ease)

p.53-54 the definition of business agility in this study will be:
Business agility is the bility to sense highly uncertain external and internal chages, and respond to them reactively or proactively, based on innovation of the internal operational processes, involving the customer in exploration and exploitation activities, while leveraging the capabilities of partners in the business network.

p.55 The BAG was measured as BAN minus BAR.

p.60 Some of the deeper reasons behind the agility gaps in the operational agility capability can be found in the fact that implementing changing requirements into the organization and IT systems takes too long