The Relationship between Technology and Organizational Structures: Empirical Truth or Theoreticians' Wishful Thinking?

Abstract

This research note reviews and analyzes the results of 34 empirical studies of technology-structure relationships. Previous reviewers have concluded that the across-study variation among sample correlations is attributable to differences in definition of technology, unit of analysis, and measurement strategy. These reviewers did not examine three theoretically important explanations for the mixed results: differences in 1) organizational size, 2) degree of professionalization, and 3) organizational sector. Meta-analyses indicate that these previously unexamined explanations are important for understanding the technology-structure relationship.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA196606

Entities

People

  • C. C. Miller
  • George P. Huber
  • Wang Yau-de
  • William H. Glick

Organizations

  • University of Texas at Austin

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Applied Psychology
  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Composite Materials
  • Direction Finding
  • Information Processing
  • Management Personnel
  • Manufacturing
  • Measurement
  • New York
  • Organization Theory
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychology
  • Reasoning
  • Social Sciences
  • Standards

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Theoretical Analysis.