Strategic pathways to agility: how dynamic management control systems, strategic management accounting and knowledge management foster organizational learning and adaptability

Purpose In today’s volatile business environment, organizational agility (OAG) is critical for sustaining competitive advantage. This study aims to examine how dynamic management control systems (DMCS), strategic management accounting practices (SMAP) and knowledge management practices (KMP) contribute to the development of organizational learning capabilities (OLC) that enhance organizational agility. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the dynamic capabilities theory and knowledge-based view, data were collected via a cross-sectional survey of 161 Saudi medium and large firms from the manufacturing and service sectors. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the hypothesized pathways. Findings The results reveal that organizational agility arises from the integrated effects of DMCS, SMAP and KMP through OLC. KMP enhances OLC, which fully mediates its impact on agility, whereas SMAP directly strengthens agility by improving decision quality and resource adaptability. DMCS influences agility indirectly by fostering the use of SMAP and enabling OLC, highlighting its role as an enabling infrastructure that strengthens the effectiveness of these systems. Overall, agility emerges through their complementary alignment, which jointly builds adaptive capacity. Practical implications For practitioners, the findings emphasize the need to align control systems, strategic accounting and knowledge processes to cultivate learning and improve agility. This paper offers actionable insights for organizations navigating dynamic markets and advances the theoretical understanding of agility’s antecedents. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by empirically validating an integrated framework that delineates the microfoundations of agility. It highlights the pivotal role of OLC as a mediator and reveals the complementary yet distinct pathways through which DMCS, SMAP and KMP operate.