INTRODUCTION

Currently, the development of companies is influenced by several factors, such as competition, changing consumer behavior and improvements in technology. Despite all these factors, human talent remains the most important resource. Therefore, in their eagerness to stay up to date, companies offer a fundamental change in the way they lead, plan, and obtain results. Agile methodologies not only seek to react or accept change, but to empower employees to make change happen, to offer them new ways of working, to turn them into integral professionals and empower them (^{Project Management Institute, 2021}).

Constant change is increasingly common in international organizations. According to ^{Arenas and Bayón (2020}), human talent, organizational change and organizational behavior are already common terms in the business world: it is people who make the change happen, and the success of the change depends on them alone. Transformation and reinvention are the key to the future.

The object of the research is one of the most important insurance companies in the Peruvian market, which started its path towards agile methodologies in 2016. It has been identified that the participation of people within the agile teams has decreased and is not the same as in its beginnings, probably due to the lack of motivation or boosters that drive them to want to once again be part of the change. The above reflects facts related to organizational behavior and agile methodologies.

International authors such as ^{Galizzi (2019}) concluded that the variables of organizational behavior must be hierarchized: first are shared values; second, skills, knowledge and attitudes; third, motivation; and, finally, peer trust. The author supported the relevance of interpersonal relationships in organizational behavior, that is, team trust. On the other hand, ^{Escobar (2019}) comments that the implementation of agile methodologies should be initiated by the leaders of the organization through a set of values and principles within its organizational culture. The important role that leaders play in an organization is acknowledged, especially when changes such as agile methodologies are introduced. In turn, ^{Hadida and Troilo (2020}) indicate that society, individuals, and organizations live in times of dizzying changes and persistent innovation that create the need for agile, creative, and collaborative responses. This confirms, once again, the ongoing change that is taking place today and to which the business sector is no exception.

Among national authors, ^{Marino (2017}) concluded, after analyzing one of the most important financial institutions in Peru, that the support of senior business management is key for an agile model to be formalized. The author supports monitoring activities by ensuring that the model is applied, and by verifying the benefits obtained. On the other hand, ^{Sanchez (2021}) argues that organizational behavior is related to work motivation, which is the main source that allows employees to communicate better and be more empathetic and assertive within the organization. According to the author, work motivation is fundamental in strengthening a team so that it is prepared for any change that may exist in the organization. This conclusion is strengthened by ^{Madero and Olivas (2016}), who state that a collaborator who presents emotional well-being, as a result of interpersonal relationships and adequate communication processes, increases his efficiency and remains stable in the organization. The authors explain the importance of human talent, since the organization depends on organizational behavior, especially if it intends to make transcendental changes in it.

Based on the above, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between organizational behavior and agile methodologies in the company under study. For a more specific analysis, variable 1, organizational behavior, was subdivided into three dimensions: interpersonal relationships, communication processes and motivation. Likewise, variable 2, agile methodologies, was also subdivided into three dimensions: individuals, leadership, and working conditions. As specific objectives, it was sought to analyze the relationship between variable 2 with each of the dimensions of variable 1.

At a theoretical level, the justification of this study considers, among other authors, the contributions of ^{Lasa et al. (2020}). It seeks to contribute to the research line of agile methodologies within the Business Sciences since this variable is not well known in Peru. Moreover, the purpose of this research is to give a precise and concise scope on the meaning and implication that agile methodologies have in organizational change. This study intends to contribute to the solution of the problem of the company under study and to serve as a reference for other companies seeking to start their way towards agile methodologies, mainly those in the insurance industry. Regarding the methodological justification, based on ^{Hernández and Mendoza (2018}), the research was correlational in scope since it was intended to establish the level of association between the study variables. On the other hand, a questionnaire designed under the Likert scale was developed, which was subjected to psychometric evaluations of validity and reliability. The limitation of this work lies in the fact that there was no direct relationship with the teams that practice agile methodologies. However, it was found that the teams are homogeneous, which means that they all work under the same guidelines. This meant that it was sufficient to contact the leader of one of the teams to fill out the questionnaire for it to be representative.

METHODOLOGY

Based on ^{Hernández and Mendoza (2018}), the scope taken by the research was correlational, as it aimed to establish the level of association between the study variables, quantitative, and had a cross-sectional non-experimental design.

Due to the size of the population (350) and considering that these were homogeneous teams, convenience sampling was used. Thirty collaborators were chosen from the operations team of the company under study, which works under agile methodologies, for being the most generous team to contribute to the research. For data collection, the survey technique was used and the instrument was a questionnaire of 30 questions (15 for each study variable) of Likert type, with a scale from 1 to 5, covering a set of questions related to the variables and dimensions of the study presented.

Regarding the quality and effectiveness of the instrument, the judgment of experts was applied for validity by consulting three professors from the School of Business Sciences. For reliability, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used, where 0.880 was obtained for the items of the organizational behavior variable and 0.920 for those of the agile methodologies variable.

Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the analysis of the information. Concerning the latter, the normality test was performed to determine the appropriate statistical technique to detect disparity in the hypotheses. Data analysis and transformation were performed in Python 3.0 Release.

RESULTS

The validity and reliability of the instrument were verified by the judgment of three experts, professors of the School of Business Sciences, and by the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient test, respectively (see Figures 1 and 2).

Source: Extracted from Python 3.0 Release.

Figure 1 Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient for the Organizational Behavior Variable. 

Source: Extracted from Python 3.0 Release.

Figure 2 Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient for the Agile Methodologies Variable. 

After conducting the survey with a Likert-type questionnaire, with a scale of 1 to 5 and comprised of 30 questions (15 for each variable), the following results were obtained:

Descriptive Results

Normality Test

Since a convenience sample of 30 participants was used, the Shapiro-Wilk test was applied to the study variables. In order to show the results in a more understandable way, graphs obtained directly from Python 3.0 Release are presented, from which it is concluded that the data do not correspond to a normal distribution (see Figure 3).

Source: Q-Q plots.

Figure 3 Non-Normal Distribution of the Variables Under Study. 

To perform the test, the rounded mean of the component of each item was used; that is, an average was calculated since there were components that had the same items. Once the results were ranked, it can be observed on the Q-Q plots that the distribution is not normal. Based on this result, the ideal test for contrasting the hypotheses of these characteristics was performed: Spearman’s correlation coefficient.

DISCUSSION

Based on the findings, the general hypothesis is accepted, which states that there is a direct and significant relationship between organizational behavior and agile methodologies in an insurance company. The result obtained not only showed that there is not only a relationship, but also a strong and positive correlation. These results are consistent with ^{Lasa et al. (2020}), who indicate that teamwork in organizations and cross-disciplinary knowledge among collaborators from different areas of a company offer greater competitiveness.

In this study, a strong and positive correlation was observed between agile methodologies, which are related to change, and interpersonal relationships, which refer to the ways of connecting and communicating among coworkers. As previously mentioned, interpersonal relationships are one of the most relevant factors in organizational behavior. It is the employees who must actively participate in any change because if they refuse in any way, the change will not take place, at least not in an optimal way. An opposite scenario is presented by ^{Galizzi (2019}), who, observing the results of his research, concludes that communication and trust are difficult between people at the same hierarchical level, as well as little integration throughout the organization and a lack of support in the change process. The author found a shortcoming in the unit of analysis of his research, poor interpersonal relationships and a low level of motivation. This contrasts with the result of this research.

In this research, a strong and positive correlation between communication processes and agile methodologies was validated. That is, there is open and consolidated communication with each of the team members, which is key when substantial changes are desired in organizations. If collaborators do not have active listening, it is unlikely that they can process the change required by the employer. In contrast to the present research, ^{Galizzi (2019}) verifies that only 67% of his sample considers themselves encouraged to apply what they have learned in various training and staff communications. Thus, the author concludes that the company must improve this aspect to strengthen the change process.

This study found a strong and positive correlation between motivation and agile methodologies. When there is work motivation, the organizational behavior is more visible to top management. In other words, they begin to place more emphasis on it, either for organizational changes or to continue with the processes and procedures already established. An author who supports this is ^{Sanchez (2021}), whose work shows as a result that there is a high correlation between work motivation and organizational behavior.

On the other hand, ^{Baron et al. (2020}) conclude that organizational changes have a negative influence on individual and group behavior when there is a complicated work environment. This should serve as a warning for the insurance company. Although they currently enjoy a positive organizational behavior in agile teams, the work environment should not be neglected, as this could have dire consequences for any organizational change, such as, in this case, that of agile methodologies.

CONCLUSIONS

After the research was conducted, it was confirmed that there is a direct and significant relationship between organizational behavior and agile methodologies, with a strong and positive correlation. The same happens with the dimensions of organizational behavior, interpersonal relationships, communication processes, and motivation. This could indicate that the insurance company is optimally managing its agile teams, but still has not found a way to involve its employees in new agile projects.

Regarding the first specific hypothesis, which states that there is a relationship between interpersonal relationships and agile methodologies, it is concluded that the insurance company should not neglect the trust between peers that has been perceived in the agile team analyzed in this work. One of the fundamental pillars of agile methodologies is teamwork, which is why interpersonal relationships are so relevant to this case.

From the second specific hypothesis, which states that there is a relationship between communication processes and agile methodologies, it is understood that communication processes are basic for openness to dialogue and that organizational changes should always be communicated to all employees as it was done by the unit of analysis of this research. Now, just as the communication processes within the agile teams are optimal, constant training on agility should be provided to all employees regardless of their rank. Furthermore, change should be presented in a dynamic and attractive way so that employees show willingness to participate in new agile projects.

Regarding the third and last specific hypothesis, which states that there is a relationship between motivation and agile methodologies, it can be deduced that leaders do encourage their collaborators to work on agile projects since they coordinate times to seek their integral growth. A leader not only validates that the tasks have been accomplished, but empowers, motivates, and accompanies the team. This quality of leaders is one of the most important motivational factors and should be promoted by agile teams, since this way participants will return to participate in projects, which is the objective of the insurance company.

The descriptive results suggest that the organization should recruit younger personnel, such as interns, for example. These results indicate that 40% of employees in agile teams are over 36 years old. Agile teams are more attractive when there is a balance of members of different ages that include younger people.

On the other hand, participation in agile projects should be encouraged with some recognition or award (to be determined by the insurance company) for the best project. Healthy competition could be one of the motivators.

It is also recommended that the entity carry out dynamics, for example, a role-playing game or interviews in pairs, in other words, actions that enhance interpersonal relationships within the teams.

At the same time, it is recommended to carry out constant training on the value added to a team when participating in an agile project and even to certify collaborators regardless of their rank. This could be a motivator for teams to participate again in agile projects.

Finally, further research continuing with this line of research should be causal correlational in order to identify which variable impacts agile methodologies and discover the reason why teams have stopped participating in so many projects. This should be done after verifying the relationship between the two variables and the degree of correlation between them.