Magdalena Dobrajska
Copenhagen Business School

Dobrajska

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(Tuesday, 17th May 2016)

Title : The organization of decisions within firms

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Why is the organization of decisions within firms important? How does the organizational structure of decision-making within a firm affect organizational performance? How do firms adapt their decision-making structures? The relationship between organizational structure and firm performance is a central, but under-researched question in strategic management. This workshop is dedicated to the recent empirical research on the allocation of decision-making authority to individual decision makers within a firm, which represents a key dimension of organizational structure. This line of research opens up the black box of a firm often conceptualized as a unitary actor. It studies how configurations of decision makers in firms come about and how these configurations affect performance, e.g. through committing type I and type II errors. Research on organization of decisions within firms draws on the behavioral theory of the firm, organizational economics and organizational theory.

Bibliographical references :

Must read reference : Csaszar, F. A. 2012. Organizational structure as a determinant of performance: Evidence from mutual funds. Strategic Management Journal, 33(6): 611–632.

Christensen, M., & Knudsen, T. 2010. Design of Decision-Making Organizations. Management Science, 56(1): 71–89.

Aghion, P., & Tirole, J. 1997. Formal and Real Authority in Organizations. Journal of Political Economy, 105(1): 1–29.

Dobrajska, M., Billinger, S., & Karim, S. 2015. Delegation Within Hierarchies: How Information Processing and Knowledge Characteristics Influence the Allocation of Formal and Real Decision Authority. Organization Science, 26(3): 687–704.