Changes in formal structure towards self-managing organization and their effects on the intra-organizational communication network

Marcel Maurer (), Norbert Bach () and Simon Oertel ()
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Marcel Maurer: TU Ilmenau
Norbert Bach: TU Ilmenau
Simon Oertel: TU Ilmenau

Journal of Organization Design, 2023, vol. 12, issue 3, 83-98

Abstract: Abstract Changes in organizational structure affect the intra-organizational communication network. However, despite an increasing relevance of less hierarchical and less bureaucratic forms of organizing, the question of how self-managing forms of organization influence employees’ communication behavior has received only scant attention yet. In our study, we analyze the case of a medium-sized firm that experiences organizational change from rigid bureaucratic structures to a more self-managing organization model and question how employees’ centrality in the communication network is affected by this reorganization. Following an explorative research approach informed by prior research on self-managing forms of organizations and communication networks, our findings show that after the change process communication generally is less dependent on formal hierarchy. However, while employees who held a higher rank before the change process loose in centrality, their centrality at the end of the change process is still higher than that of other employees. Moreover, employees who experience a promotion become more central in the communication network while demotions do not have an effect. By discussing these findings in the context of organizational change and the persistence of organizational structures, we contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the implementation process of self-managing organizations.

Keywords: Self-managing organization; Organizational change; Communication network; Hierarchy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L22 L90 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s41469-023-00143-z

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