Field Experiments with Formal Organizations

• Published in: Human organization 1964-07, Vol.23 (2), p.164-170
• Main Authors: Seashore, Stanley E., eSashore, Stanley E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Control units; Experiment design; Experiment/Experiments/Experimental/ Experimenter/ Experimentation/ Experimentalism; Experimentation; Field; Field experiments; Field Methods and Techniques; Formal organization; Job performance; Organization/Organizations/ Organizational/ Organize/ Organizers/ Organized/ Organizing; Organizational theory; Population size; Research design; Seashores
• ISSN: 0018-7259; 1938-3525
• DOI: 10.17730/humo.23.2.d377411314j8w41r

3 recent field exp's are described briefly & compared re: (1) criteria for choice of S org's, (2) contrived vs natural approach to change, (3) nature & theoretical character of the change, control & criterion variables, (4) the instit'al, org'al, socpsychol'al or individual level of the theory, (5) the duration of the experiment in time, & (6) the analysis strategy for testing causal hyp's. The dilemmas discussed are thought to be not unique to field exp's with complex org's, but more troublesome in such exp's than in laboratory or small group exp's: (A) preference for control vs representativeness in choice of S org's, (B) choice of short-term vs long-duration exp'al periods with risks of insufficient change vs intrustion of disturbing events, (C) preference for smaller, explicit theories vs global, syndromatic theories with issues of precision vs comprehensiveness, (D) prepreference for limited & controlled change induction vs massive & powerful change induction, (E) preference for `near' vs 'distant' criteria re the number of hyp'ed links in the causal chain of variables being investigated, (F) preference for self-selected vs independently-selected S org's, & (G) weighing of technical design consideration vs ethical & practical considerations in conducting the field work. It is suggested that at the present primitive stage of development in exp'tion with org's, priority should be given to simplicity of design & to the opportunistic search for res sites that ease these dilemmas. Modified AA.