TINY TEAMS: DECENTRALIZATION OF MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE ALIGNMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITALIZATION

Abstract

The article investigates the phenomenon of transition in contemporary organisational design from traditional hierarchical structures and conventional agile frameworks towards the format of "Tiny Teams" — ultra-mobile, cross-functional units comprising two to four specialists. This emerging model represents a fundamental rethinking of how organisations allocate talent, coordinate work, and deliver value in conditions of accelerating environmental volatility. The relevance of the study is determined by the urgent need to ensure hyper-flexibility of enterprises operating in the BANI world (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible), where conventional management structures demonstrate insufficient adaptive capacity. The research analyses the mechanisms of management decentralisation and resource coordination in phygital environments, where the boundaries between physical and digital workspaces are increasingly blurred and team interactions are mediated through digital platforms and AI-powered tools. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the conceptualisation of the "AI-assistivity" model, wherein artificial intelligence functions as an implicit participant of the micro-team rather than merely an external instrument. This reconceptualisation transforms the prevailing paradigm of Self-management 4.0 by redistributing cognitive load, augmenting decision-making capacity, and enabling teams of minimal headcount to perform tasks previously requiring significantly larger organisational units. The article substantiates the transition from permissive to protocol-based (API) access to organisational resources, which fundamentally alters the architecture of inter-team coordination and reduces transaction costs within decentralised structures. Empirical grounding is provided through case examples of micro-structure implementation in the Ukrainian business environment, specifically within the mil-tech and IT sectors. These cases demonstrate the high resilience of Tiny Teams under conditions of extreme uncertainty, confirming their operational effectiveness when traditional management hierarchies face disruption. The findings carry practical implications for managers seeking to redesign organisational structures in response to wartime conditions and post-war recovery challenges.