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Two measures of organizational flexibility

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  • Guido Fioretti

Abstract

Since the second half of the past century, increasingly flexible organizational forms have been appearing among firms. However, while hierarchies are easily described, too few mathematical tools are available for flexible organizations. In this article, two measures are proposed in order to assess the state and trend of flexible organizations. The first of these measures is based on information waste, which occurs whenever information is classified into categories. The second measure is based on duplication of operations. The underlying idea is that firms have an endogenous drive towards organizational configurations where waste of information and duplication of operations are minimized. However, environmental uncertainty may require some flexibility, which is ensured by cognitive processes that discard some information as well as by parallel undertaking of similar actions. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Guido Fioretti, 2012. "Two measures of organizational flexibility," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 957-979, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joevec:v:22:y:2012:i:5:p:957-979
    DOI: 10.1007/s00191-011-0229-1
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    Cited by:

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    3. Adrianela Angeles & Adriana Perez-Encinas & Cristian E. Villanueva, 2022. "Characterizing Organizational Lifecycle through Strategic and Structural Flexibility: Insights from MSMEs in Mexico," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 23(2), pages 271-290, June.
    4. Ali Nawaz Khan & Khalid Mehmood & Ahsan Ali, 2024. "Maximizing CSR impact: Leveraging artificial intelligence and process optimization for sustainability performance management," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4849-4861, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Flexible organizations; New organizational forms; Firm restructuring; Theory of the firm; D23; L20;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General

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