Exploring commonalities in unconventional organization design: evidence from Spanish SME case studies

Eva María Agruña Barrón (), María Jesús Belizón Cebada and Raquel Redondo Palomo
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Eva María Agruña Barrón: Universidad Pontificia Comillas
María Jesús Belizón Cebada: Universidad Pontificia Comillas
Raquel Redondo Palomo: Universidad Pontificia Comillas

Journal of Organization Design, 2025, vol. 14, issue 4, 295-317

Abstract: Abstract This article presents an exploratory, inductive study of unconventional organization design in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises. Drawing on a multi-case study of five Spanish firms, the study identifies six components that recurrently appeared across the cases: (1) responsible freedom; (2) collaborative and boundaryless workflows; (3) ample transparency; (4) adaptive governance; (5) disruptive and continuous innovation; and (6) sustainable impact. Rather than offering a prescriptive or exhaustive model, the study proposes an empirically informed account of how certain features of unconventional organization designs were enacted and interrelated in the selected organizations. These findings contribute to the literature by illustrating how unconventional organizational configurations may emerge and operate in practice, and by highlighting the trade-offs and tensions associated with each component. While the results are context-specific, they may serve as a useful point of departure for further inquiry into alternative design logics. For practitioners, the identified components offer conceptual guidance that may inform reflection and experimentation in the pursuit of more adaptive and participatory organizational forms.

Keywords: Unconventional organization design; Responsible freedom; Collaborative and boundaryless workflows; Ample transparency; Adaptive governance; Disruptive and continuous innovation and sustainable impact; M10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s41469-025-00191-7

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