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The Configurational Approach to Organization Design: Four Recommended Initiatives

  • Chapter
Organization Design

Part of the book series: Information and Organization Design Series ((INOD,volume 6))

Abstract

The overall objective of this chapter is to reinvigorate interest in the configurational approach to organization design. Configurational analysis developed in promising ways in the 1970s and 1980s and then stalled. We believe, however, that the configurational approach can be improved such that it will serve the interests of scholars, managers, and organizational designers alike. We discuss four research initiatives that can be combined to produce a theoretically and practically useful approach: (1) adding the configurational elements of organizational capabilities and management philosophy; (2) incorporating into theory development a mechanism for anticipating future organizational forms and helping managers to consider those forms; (3) developing valid quantitative measures of capabilities and other intangible assets; and (4) improving the model of change that underlies the redesign process.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management and Organization, The Pennsylvania State University, 452 Business Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Charles C. Snow

  2. Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1900, USA

    Raymond E. Miles

  3. College of Business Administration, University of North Texas, P.O. Box 13677, Denton, TX, 76203, USA

    Grant Miles

Authors
  1. Charles C. Snow
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  2. Raymond E. Miles
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  3. Grant Miles
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Duke University, NC, USA

    Richard M. Burton

  2. University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

    Dorthe Døjbak Håkonsson  & Bo Eriksen  & 

  3. Pennsylvania State University, USA

    Charles C. Snow

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Snow, C.C., Miles, R.E., Miles, G. (2006). The Configurational Approach to Organization Design: Four Recommended Initiatives. In: Burton, R.M., Håkonsson, D.D., Eriksen, B., Snow, C.C. (eds) Organization Design. Information and Organization Design Series, vol 6. Springer, Boston, MA . https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-34173-0_1

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