The Architecture of Simplicity
- 1 January 1993
- journal article
- Published by Academy of Management in Academy of Management Review
- Vol. 18 (1) , 116-138
- https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1993.3997509
Abstract
This article argues that over time the world views, goals, strategies, cultures, and processes of successful organizations will become more pure or “simple”: They will come to focus more narrowly on a single theme, activity, or issue at the expense of all others. This is explained by managerial, cultural, structural, and process factors within the organization. It is also attributed to both the complementary way in which these factors configure and the paradox that although simplicity may trigger ultimate failure, it can bring about Initial success. The article offers some illustrative propositions concerning the nature, causes, moderating factors, and consequences of simplicity, and it makes suggestions for conducting further research.Keywords
This publication has 43 references indexed in Scilit:
- Knee-deep in the big muddy: a study of escalating commitment to a chosen course of actionPublished by Elsevier ,2004
- The Genesis of ConfigurationAcademy of Management Review, 1987
- Taking Stock of Organizational Decline Management: Some Issues and Illustrations From an Empirical StudyJournal of Management, 1985
- To avoid organizational crises, unlearnOrganizational Dynamics, 1984
- Dynamics of Publisher Succession in Newspaper OrganizationsAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1984
- The Justification of Organizational PerformanceAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1983
- Archetypes of Organizational TransitionAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1980
- Managerial Succession and Organizational Performance: A Recalcitrant Problem RevisitedAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1979
- The Population Ecology of OrganizationsAmerican Journal of Sociology, 1977
- Self-serving biases in the attribution of causality: Fact or fiction?Psychological Bulletin, 1975