Abstract
Organizational design theorists argue that organizations adopt matrix (departmentalized) structures for technical reasons, to solve problems of internal coordination and information processing. Research on interorganizational networks suggests that organizations adopt new structures because of mimetic forces and normative pressures. We examined the effects of both sets of factors on the adoption of matrix management in a group of hospitals. Multivariate analyses revealed that matrix adoption is influenced not only by task diversity, but also by sociometric location, the dissemination of information, and the cumulative force of adoption in interorganizational networks. Such variables exert little influence on decisions to abandon matrix programs, however.
Keywords
NormativeAbandonment (legal)Knowledge managementTask (project management)Matrix (chemical analysis)BusinessOrganizational behaviorOrganizational theoryDiversity (politics)Organizational structurePublic relationsMarketingSociologyPsychologyManagementComputer scienceSocial psychologyEconomicsPolitical science
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Publication Info
- Year
- 1993
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 106-138
- Citations
- 582
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
Lawton R. Burns,
Douglas R. Wholey
(1993).
ADOPTION AND ABANDONMENT OF MATRIX MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS: EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERORGANIZATIONAL NETWORKS..
Academy of Management Journal
, 36
(1)
, 106-138.
https://doi.org/10.2307/256514
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.2307/256514