Aligning to the firm’s strategic objectives. The role of time and identification.

This study explores on the microfoundations of strategic agility, which involves change to cope with dynamic environments and to develop appropriate responses. Strategic agility is cultivated through significant investments of resources and development of capabilities necessary to timely respond to environmental threats and opportunities. In particular, this study focuses on the strategic goal alignment between managers and employees, which is a paramount aspect of strategic agility. Strategic alignment reflects the level of alignment of the organization's staff with the organization's strategy and is influenced by normative, hedonic, and gain goals pursued by individuals in organizations. The study assumes that firms should reach a high level of alignment in their normative overarching goals between managers and employees to increase their strategic agility. Prior literature has observed that individuals tend to move more towards hedonic goal frames in the medium and long terms, which can lead to a decrease in strategic goal alignment. Therefore, finding ways to support individuals' willingness to achieve strategic normative goals in the long term is crucial for maintaining strategic agility. Increasing tenure in a work position might diminish the individual's strategic alignment with the organization's strategic objectives, and hierarchical erosion effects tend to decrease the perceptions about strategic goals in the lower levels of the hierarchy, affecting the strategic goal alignment.