Hierarchical Structure and Search in Complex Organizations
通过形式模型和模拟，研究组织层级结构对搜索速度、解决方案质量和稳定性的影响，发现领导职能锚定、基层授权和小组规模等关键因素，对管理者优化组织设计有参考价值。
Organizations engage in search whenever they perform nonroutine tasks, such as the definition and validation of a new strategy, the acquisition of new capabilities, or new product development. Previous work on search and organizational hierarchy has discovered that a hierarchy with a central decision maker at the top can speed up problem solving, but possibly at the cost of solution quality compared with results of a decentralized search. Our study uses a formal model and simulations to explore the effect of an organizational hierarchy on solution stability, solution quality, and search speed. Three insights arise on how a hierarchy can improve organizational search: (1) assigning a lead function that “anchors” a solution speeds up problem solving; (2) local solution choice should be delegated to the lowest level; and (3) structure matters little at the middle management level, but it matters at the front line; front-line groups should be kept small. These results highlight the importance for every organization of adapting its hierarchical structure to its search requirements.