Organization theory and design: Lecture 13

Organization theory and design: Lecture 13 provides students with content about: inter-organization relationships; organizational ecosystems; resource dependence; collaborative networks; population ecology; institutionalism;... Please refer to the lesson for details!

Inter-organization Relationships

• Organizational Ecosystems

• Resource Dependence

• Collaborative Networks

• Population Ecology

• Institutionalism

Organizational Ecosystems

• An organizational ecosystem is a system formed by the interaction of a community of organizations and their

environment

• The concept of co-evolution (competition dead)

• Within business ecosystems managers learn to move beyond traditional responsibilities of corporate strategy, designing structures and control systems If that

happens, company is missing opportunities for new and evolving external relationships (suppliers and customers becoming parts of business value chain)

• Business leaders have the responsibility to lead

Inter-organizational Framework

• Inter organizational relationships among

different organizations can be characterized by:

– whether the organizations are similar or dissimilar – whether relationships are competitive or cooperative

1 dissimilar/competitive (resource dependence)

2 dissimilar/cooperative (collaboration network)

3 similar/competitive (population ecology)

4 similar/cooperative (institutionalism)

1 Resource Dependence

• Traditional view of inter-organizational relationships

• Strategies to overcome resource

dependence include:

– purchasing ownership in suppliers

– joint ventures

– interlocking directorates

2 Collaboration Networks

• As new wave of technology based on digital

communications builds, computer

manufacturers, local phone companies, cable

TV operators, cellular phone companies, and even water and gas utilities have been teaming up

• They share risk and enhance corporate profile

• Japan and Korea have long traditions corporate clans or industrial groups (from adversaries to partners)

3 Population Ecology

• Focus is on organizational diversity and adaptation within a

population of organizations

• A population is a set of organizations engaged in similar activities with similar patterns of resource utilization and outcomes

• Large organizations become dinosaurs, new organizational forms that fit the current environment would emerge (e-business, gas

stations)

• Organizational form is an organization’s specific technology,

structure, products, goals, and personnel which can be selected or rejected by the environment

• Each new organization tries to find a niche

• Process of variation (large number of variations appear in the

population of organizations), selection (some organizations find a

4 Institutionalism

• This view argues that organizations need legitimacy from their stakeholders

• Companies perform well when they are perceived by the larger environment to

have a legitimate right to exist.

• The institutional view believes that

organizations adopt structures and

processes to please outsiders

(stakeholders/ society)