Electronic communication and new organizational forms: A coordination theory approach

Kevin Crowston

Working Paper Series from MIT Center for Coordination Science

Abstract: Describing and categorizing organizational forms remains a central problem in organization theory. Unfortunately defining organizational form poses numerous difficulties. Rather than attempting to categorize entire organizations, researchers have instead suggested focusing on how particular tasks are performed, i.e., adopting the process as the unit of analysis. An important practical problem then is to identify processes that would be suitable for performing a desired task, especially processes that are enabled by the use of new electronic media and other forms of information technology. Coordination theory provides an approach to the study of processes. In this view, the form a process takes depends on the coordination mechanisms chosen to manage dependences among tasks and resources involved in the process. These mechanisms are primarily information-processing and so the use of new media will particularly affect their cost, perhaps changing which are preferred.

In this paper, I use coordination theory to analyze the software change process of a large mini-computer manufacturer and suggest alternative ways the dependences involved could be managed and thus alternative forms the process could take. Mechanisms analyzed include those for task assignment, resource sharing and managing dependences between modules of code. The organization studied assigned problem reports to engineers based on the module which appeared to be in error; engineers specialized in particular modules. The framework suggests alternative mechanisms including assignment to generalists based on workload or based on market-like bids. Modules of code were not shared, but rather "owned" by one engineer, thus reducing the need for coordination; a more elaborate code management system would be required if multiple engineers needed to work on the same modules. Finally, engineers managed dependences between modules informally, based on their personal knowledge of which other engineers used their code; alternatives include formally defining the interfaces between modules and tracking their users.

Software bug fixing provides a microcosm of coordination problems and solutions. Similar coordination problems arise in most processes and are managed by a similar range of mechanisms. For example, diagnosing but reports and assigning them to engineers may have interesting parallels to diagnosing patients and assigning them to specialists.

While the case presented does not formally test coordination theory, it does illustrate the potential of the coordination theory for exploring the space of organizational forms. Future work includes developing more rigorous techniques for such analyses, applying the techniques to a broader range of processes, identifying additional coordination problems and mechanisms and developing tools for collecting and comparing processes and perhaps automatically suggesting potential alternatives.

Date: 1994-08
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