Toward organizational agility in universities of medical sciences: a social responsibility approach—an integrative review

Social responsibility in medical education requires universities of medical sciences to align their educational systems with the health needs of society, yet evidence from Iran suggests a persistent gap between academic education and real societal demands. In rapidly changing health systems, organizational agility through dynamic capabilities and empowerment may help universities better fulfill this mission. Therefore, this integrative review examined components shaping organizational agility in the educational system of universities of medical sciences from a social responsibility perspective. We conducted an integrative review following Whittemore & knafl’s five-step framework (problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis, and presentation). A comprehensive search of international and national databases, supplemented by grey literature and reference list screening, was conducted without time limit until September 11, 2025. The identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion of records were reported using PRISMA 2020 as a reporting guideline only. Eligible studies were appraised using design-appropriate tools (MMAT, SANRA, JBI, CASP), and their findings were synthesized through a hybrid framework-guided deductive-inductive content analysis informed by the agility model of Ghane Ebadi et al. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Across a diverse contexts, recurring components of organizational agility and university social responsibility converged into two interrelated pillars: educational empowerment and educational dynamic capabilities. Educational empowerment included structural and human asset empowerment in education, while educational dynamic capabilities comprised the capabilities of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguration. Both pillars were consistently interpreted through a social responsibility lens, emphasizing responsibility, equity, transparency, and stakeholder engagement. The resulting framework reconceptualizes organizational agility in medical universities as “responsible agility,” in which educational empowerment and educational dynamic capabilities are intentionally aligned with social responsibility to guide governance, curriculum design, and stakeholder-driven educational reforms.