Organizational Structure, Information Processing, and Decision-Making: A Retrospective and Road Map for Research

Abstract

Beginning with Simon (1947)—and motivated by an interest in the effect of formal organizational structure on decision-making—a large body of research has examined how organizations process information. Yet, research in this area is extremely diverse and fragmented. We offer a retrospective of past research to summarize our collective knowledge, as well as identify and advance new concerns and questions. In doing so, we identify three critical issues: a division between an aggregation perspective and a constraint perspective of structure, little focus on informational sources of conflict, and uneven treatment of various stages of decision-making. We then offer a road map for future research that elaborates the role of organizational structure in decision-making. In this endeavor, we offer an ecological perspective of information processing that addresses the issues and provides opportunities to expand research in new directions.