The Adoption of the M-Form Organizational Structure: A Test of Imitation Hypothesis

Vijay Mahajan, Subhash Sharma and Richard A. Bettis
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Vijay Mahajan: Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275
Subhash Sharma: College of Business Administration, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208
Richard A. Bettis: Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275

Management Science, 1988, vol. 34, issue 10, 1188-1201

Abstract: The study of organizational adoption of administrative innovations has been generally guided by the imitation hypothesis. This hypothesis states that, within a relevant population of firms, an innovation is first adopted by a select few innovators who communicate and influence others to adopt it resulting in a predictable diffusion pattern. Using data on the adoption of the M-form organizational structure, this paper reexamines this hypothesis. Based on the reported results, we cannot reject the null hypothesis that organizational adoption of administrative innovations is characterized by a white-noise process. This result brings into question the appropriateness of the imitation hypothesis. Limitations and implications of the results are discussed.

Keywords: administrative innovations; M-form hypothesis; diffusion models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1988
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