IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/futbus/v10y2024i1d10.1186_s43093-024-00330-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unnecessary organizational burden: a conceptual framework

Author

Listed:
  • Oren Ginzburg

    (Universiteit Antwerpen/Antwerp Management School
    Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Stefanie Weil

    (Universiteit Antwerpen/Antwerp Management School)

  • Arjen Witteloostuijn

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Abstract

This paper investigates the mechanisms that lead organizations to impose unnecessary burdens on their actors. The prevailing narrative in the literature is that unnecessary organizational burden (UOB) is created either on purpose—as a way for an organizational actor to assert control—or inadvertently through the passage of time as layers of policies, rules, and processes accumulate. Based on a wide review of relevant literature, we propose a different explanation: in our conceptual framework, the onset and mitigation of unnecessary burdens are explained, respectively, by organizational decision-makers’ weaknesses and strengths. Our framework combines (1) a typology of unnecessary burdens with (2) a typology of factors influencing the likelihood of UOB mitigation, and (3) a typology of managerial mitigation responses to such burdens. The conceptual framework, and a series of 12 propositions, aim to offer researchers and practitioners a shared language to empirically investigate unnecessary organizational burden, and implement effective solutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Oren Ginzburg & Stefanie Weil & Arjen Witteloostuijn, 2024. "Unnecessary organizational burden: a conceptual framework," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:futbus:v:10:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1186_s43093-024-00330-8
    DOI: 10.1186/s43093-024-00330-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s43093-024-00330-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s43093-024-00330-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:futbus:v:10:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1186_s43093-024-00330-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.