Archetypes of Organizational Transition

A number of common patterns of organizational transition are identified. These describe some very prevalent modes of organizational adaptation that are characterized by the evolution of, and interaction among, environmental, structural, and strategy-making variables. Inverse factor analysis is used...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Administrative Science Quarterly 1980-06, Vol.25 (2), p.268-299
Main Authors: Miller, Danny, Friesen, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Adjustment (to Environment)
Annual reports
Archetype/Archetypes/Archetypical
Archetypes
Business structures
Chief executive officers
Delegation of authority
Environment
Factor analysis
Longitudinal Studies
Organization
Organization development
Organization theory
Organization/Organizations/ Organizational/ Organize/ Organizers/ Organized/ Organizing
Organizational behavior
Organizational change
Organizations (Groups)
Pattern/Patterns/Patterning
Questionnaires
Research Methodology
Risk taking
Standard deviation
Transition/Transitions/ Transitional
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Summary:A number of common patterns of organizational transition are identified. These describe some very prevalent modes of organizational adaptation that are characterized by the evolution of, and interaction among, environmental, structural, and strategy-making variables. Inverse factor analysis is used on a data sample comprised of published case histories to generate hypotheses on the most frequent transition patterns. Hypotheses take the form of score ranges across a set of twenty-four variables, and these score ranges collectively define regions in a Cartesian product space. A test of proportions finds nine significantly common regions, which are designated as archetypes of transition. It is found that 54 percent of transitions from a questionnaire sample and 86 percent of transitions from a second sample of case histories fall into regions given less than a 4 percent chance of occurring under the null hypothesis. The nine archetypes of transition are discussed.
ISSN:0001-8392
1930-3815
DOI:10.2307/2392455