Organizational Strategy Structure
Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process^
RAYMOND E. MILES University of California, Berkeley CHARLES C. SNOW The Pennsylvania State University ALAN D. MEYER University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee HENRY J. COLEMAN JR. University of California, Berkeley
Organizational adaptation is a topic that has received only limited and fragmented theoretical treatment. Any attempt to examine organiza-^ tional adaptation is difficult, since the process is highly complex and changeable. The proposed theoretical framework deals with alternative ways in which organizations define their product-market domains (strategy) and construct mechanisms (structures and processes) to pursue these strategies. The framework is based on interpretation of existing literature and continuing studies in four industries (college textbook publishing, electronics, food processing, and health care).
Raymond E. Miles (Ph.D. — Stanford University) is Professor of Business Administration and Associate Director of the Institute of Industrial Relations at the University of California, ^^ '• ' '^ '^yCharles C. Snow (Ph.D. — University of California, Berkeley) is Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at The Pennsylvania State University. Received 6/7/77; Revised8/19/77; Accepted 9/15/77; Revised 11/15/77.
., :•• .. ::
Alan D. Meyer (Ph.D. — University of California, Berkeley) n Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Henry J. Coleman, Jr., is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University ol California Berkeley ^ i The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dougis* Darran, Robert Pitts, and Max Richards for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.
546 . • •• •" ••
• ' • • :
.
"•
•
Academy of Management Review - July 1978
An organization is both an articulated purpose and an established mechanism for achieving it. Most organizations engage in an ongoing process of evaluating their purposes—questioning,
RAYMOND E. MILES University of California, Berkeley CHARLES C. SNOW The Pennsylvania State University ALAN D. MEYER University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee HENRY J. COLEMAN JR. University of California, Berkeley
Organizational adaptation is a topic that has received only limited and fragmented theoretical treatment. Any attempt to examine organiza-^ tional adaptation is difficult, since the process is highly complex and changeable. The proposed theoretical framework deals with alternative ways in which organizations define their product-market domains (strategy) and construct mechanisms (structures and processes) to pursue these strategies. The framework is based on interpretation of existing literature and continuing studies in four industries (college textbook publishing, electronics, food processing, and health care).
Raymond E. Miles (Ph.D. — Stanford University) is Professor of Business Administration and Associate Director of the Institute of Industrial Relations at the University of California, ^^ '• ' '^ '^yCharles C. Snow (Ph.D. — University of California, Berkeley) is Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at The Pennsylvania State University. Received 6/7/77; Revised8/19/77; Accepted 9/15/77; Revised 11/15/77.
., :•• .. ::
Alan D. Meyer (Ph.D. — University of California, Berkeley) n Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Henry J. Coleman, Jr., is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University ol California Berkeley ^ i The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dougis* Darran, Robert Pitts, and Max Richards for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.
546 . • •• •" ••
• ' • • :
.
"•
•
Academy of Management Review - July 1978
An organization is both an articulated purpose and an established mechanism for achieving it. Most organizations engage in an ongoing process of evaluating their purposes—questioning,
References: 1- Anderson, Carl R., and Frank T. Pdine. "Managerial Perceptions and Strategic Behavior," Academy of Management lournal. Vol. 18 (1975), 811-823. '• Ansoff, H. Igor. Corporate Strategy (New York: McGrawHill, 1%5).