Zhongyuan Sun

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Contingency and configurational theory

Fit between structure, strategy and environment.

Of its 45 readings, 12 are assigned in two or more sources and listed first, with the number of sources beside each (in bold for the core readings, in 4 or more); the 33 listed in only one source are folded under each heading.

In the theory tree: grows out of 2 Classical foundations; leads to 4 Resource dependence and power and 5 Organizational ecology and demography.

Drawn from: Pollock (Tennessee); Glaser (Alberta); Yue (USC); Fiss (USC); Sullivan (HKUST); Anteby (Boston University); Marquis (HBS); Dobbin (Harvard); Lu, Li, Park, Yang & Yan (CityU); Clough (UBC); Peng (UT Dallas); Amit (Wharton); Yiu (CUHK). Full details of the sources are on the reading lists page.

By decade

Before 1950: 0 readings<19501950s: 1 reading1950s1960s: 5 readings1960s1970s: 10 readings101970s1980s: 7 readings1980s1990s: 6 readings1990s2000s: 8 readings2000s2010s: 8 readings2010s2020s: 0 readings2020s
Most date from the 1970s; half were published in 1989 or later.

Core readings

In 4 or more sources.

  1. Thompson, J. D. (1967). Organizations in Action: Social Science Bases of Administrative Theory. McGraw-Hill.8
  2. Lawrence, P. R., & Lorsch, J. W. (1967). Differentiation and Integration in Complex Organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 12(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.2307/23912116

Also assigned

In 2 to 3 sources.

  1. Adler, P. S., & Borys, B. (1996). Two Types of Bureaucracy: Enabling and Coercive. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(1), 61. https://doi.org/10.2307/23939863
  2. Sine, W. D., Mitsuhashi, H., & Kirsch, D. A. (2006). Revisiting Burns And Stalker: Formal Structure And New Venture Performance In Emerging Economic Sectors. Academy of Management Journal, 49(1), 121–132. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2006.207855903
  3. Woodward, J. (1965). Industrial Organization: Theory and Practice. Oxford University Press.2
  4. Child, J. (1972). Organizational Structure, Environment and Performance: The Role of Strategic Choice. Sociology, 6(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038572006001012
  5. Galbraith, J. R. (1977). Organization design: An information processing view. Addison-Wesley.2
  6. Schoonhoven, C. B. (1981). Problems with Contingency Theory: Testing Assumptions Hidden within the Language of Contingency "Theory". Administrative Science Quarterly, 26(3), 349. https://doi.org/10.2307/23925122
  7. Siggelkow, N. (2002). Evolution toward Fit. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(1), 125–159. https://doi.org/10.2307/30948932
  8. Fiss, P. C. (2007). A set-theoretic approach to organizational configurations. Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1180–1198. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.265860922
  9. Davis, G. F., & Adam Cobb, J. (2010). Resource dependence theory: Past and future. In Research in the Sociology of Organizations (pp. 21–42). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/s0733-558x(2010)00000280062
  10. Bodrožić, Z., & Adler, P. S. (2018). The Evolution of Management Models: A Neo-Schumpeterian Theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, 63(1), 85–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/00018392177048112

Further readings

33 more, listed in one source
  1. Trist, E. L., & Bamforth, K. W. (1951). Some Social and Psychological Consequences of the Longwall Method of Coal-Getting: An Examination of the Psychological Situation and Defences of a Work Group in Relation to the Social Structure and Technological Content of the Work System. Human Relations, 4(1), 3–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675100400101
  2. Perrow, C. (1967). A Framework for the Comparative Analysis of Organizations. American Sociological Review, 32(2), 194. https://doi.org/10.2307/2091811
  3. Hickson, D. J., Pugh, D. S., & Pheysey, D. C. (1969). Operations Technology and Organization Structure: An Empirical Reappraisal. Administrative Science Quarterly, 14(3), 378. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391134
  4. Blau, P. M. (1970). A Formal Theory of Differentiation in Organizations. American Sociological Review, 35(2), 201. https://doi.org/10.2307/2093199
  5. Hickson, D. J., Hinings, C. R., Lee, C. A., Schneck, R. E., & Pennings, J. M. (1971). A Strategic Contingencies' Theory of Intraorganizational Power. Administrative Science Quarterly, 16(2), 216. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391831
  6. Aldrich, H. E. (1972). Technology and Organizational Structure: A Reexamination of the Findings of the Aston Group. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392089
  7. Galbraith, J. (1973). Designing complex organizations. Addison-Wesley.
  8. Kimberly, J. R. (1976). Organizational Size and the Structuralist Perspective: A Review, Critique, and Proposal. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21(4), 571. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391717
  9. Chandler, A. D. (1977). The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjghwrj
  10. Kimberly, J. R., Miles, R. E., & Snow, C. C. (1978). Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23(4), 652. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392589
  11. Tushman, M. L. (1979). Work Characteristics and Subunit Communication Structure: A Contingency Analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(1), 82. https://doi.org/10.2307/2989877
  12. Argote, L. (1982). Input Uncertainty and Organizational Coordination in Hospital Emergency Units. Administrative Science Quarterly, 27(3), 420. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392320
  13. Drazin, R., & de Ven, A. H. V. (1985). Alternative Forms of Fit in Contingency Theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30(4), 514. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392695
  14. Van de Ven, A. H., & Drazin, R. (1985). The concept of fit in contingency theory. Research in Organizational Behavior.
  15. Miller, D. (1986). Configurations of strategy and structure: Towards a synthesis. Strategic Management Journal, 7(3), 233–249. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250070305
  16. Donaldson, L. (1987). Strategy and structural adjustment to regain fit and performance: In defense of contingency theory. Journal of Management Studies, 24(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.1987.tb00444.x
  17. Gresov, C. (1989). Exploring Fit and Misfit with Multiple Contingencies. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34(3), 431. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393152
  18. Meyer, A. D., Tsui, A. S., & Hinings, C. R. (1993). Configurational approaches to organizational analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 36(6), 1175–1195. https://doi.org/10.2307/256809
  19. Haveman, H. A. (1993). Organizational Size and Change: Diversification in the Savings and Loan Industry after Deregulation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393253
  20. Ketchen, D. J., Thomas, J. B., & Snow, C. C. (1993). Organizational configurations and performance: A comparison of theoretical approaches. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 1278–1313.
  21. Miller, D. (1996). Configurations Revisited. Strategic Management Journal, 17(7), 505–512. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199607)17:7<505::aid-smj852>3.0.co;2-i
  22. Donaldson, L. (1996). The normal science of structural contingency theory. In S. R. Clegg, C. Hardy, & W. R. Nord (Eds.), Handbook of Organization Studies (pp. 57–76). Sage.
  23. Galunic, D. C., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2001). Architectural Innovation and Modular Corporate Forms. Academy of Management Journal, 44(6), 1229–1249. https://doi.org/10.2307/3069398
  24. Gulati, R., Lawrence, P. R., & Puranam, P. (2005). Adaptation in vertical relationships: beyond incentive conflict. Strategic Management Journal, 26(5), 415–440. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.458
  25. Gulati, R., & Sytch, M. (2007). Dependence Asymmetry and Joint Dependence in Interorganizational Relationships: Effects of Embeddedness on a Manufacturer's Performance in Procurement Relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52(1), 32–69. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.52.1.32
  26. Ragin, C. C. (2008). Redesigning Social Inquiry: Fuzzy Sets and Beyond. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226702797.001.0001
  27. Marquis, C., & Huang, Z. (2009). The Contingent Nature of Public Policy and the Growth of U.S. Commercial Banking. Academy of Management Journal, 52(6), 1222–1246. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.47084828
  28. Fiss, P. C. (2011). Building Better Causal Theories: A Fuzzy Set Approach to Typologies in Organization Research. Academy of Management Journal, 54(2), 393–420. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.60263120
  29. Van de Ven, A. H., Ganco, M., & Hinings, C. R. (2013). Returning to the Frontier of Contingency Theory of Organizational and Institutional Designs. Academy of Management Annals, 7(1), 393–440. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2013.774981
  30. Aversa, P., Furnari, S., & Haefliger, S. (2015). Business model configurations and performance: A qualitative comparative analysis in Formula One racing, 2005-2013. Industrial and Corporate Change, 24(3), 655–676. https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtv012
  31. Ragin, C. C., & Fiss, P. C. (2016). Intersectional Inequality: Race, Class, Test Scores, and Poverty. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226414546.001.0001
  32. Kitts, J. A., Lomi, A., Mascia, D., Pallotti, F., & Quintane, E. (2017). Investigating the Temporal Dynamics of Interorganizational Exchange: Patient Transfers among Italian Hospitals. American Journal of Sociology, 123(3), 850–910. https://doi.org/10.1086/693704
  33. Wilmers, N. (2018). Wage Stagnation and Buyer Power: How Buyer-Supplier Relations Affect U.S. Workers’ Wages, 1978 to 2014. American Sociological Review, 83(2), 213–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418762441