Organizational Technology and Organizational Structure

Abstract

Contrary to impressions that might be obtained from the literature on technology and structure, there is not a great deal of reliable evidence that the social structure of organizations is strongly affected by technology. The present research finds a very weak relationship between technological manageability and subordinate participation in decision making. When the conceptualization of technology is expanded to include more than manageability, a moderate relationship with participativeness emerges. No support is found for the hypothesis that the effectiveness of an organization is determined by the consonance between its technology and its social structure. Technology and structure are both multidimensional concepts that cannot be expected to be related in a simple manner. Future research on the determinants of most dimensions of social structure in organizations should probably emphasize independent variables other than technological characteristics.