Published research
A literature review of
Organizational Autonomy
This work proposes a synthesis of extant literature on the concept of organizational autonomy. After proposing a definition for this scale-free concept, my co-authors and I structure prior work in terms of determinants and outcomes. We then suggest an agenda for future research.
Abstract
Organizational autonomy is a fundamental organizational design choice that holds a central position in management theories and practice. To date, this construct has suffered from definitional vagueness and conceptual fragmentation in its academic study across different management subfields. Drawing from a review of 87 articles appearing in top academic management journals, we had four objectives. We sought to establish clarity and consensus on the construct of organizational autonomy, to review the fragmented fields of studies on its determinants and outcomes, to identify unresolved or neglected debates, and to provide an organizing template for guiding future research. In a first section, we discuss the development of the organizational autonomy construct and review its diverse definitions, primary determinants, and outcomes. In a second section, we provide a set of recommendations spanning methodological directions and conceptual opportunities on the overlooked dynamics of organizational autonomy. Overall, our review provides a unified framework and direction for enhancing the understanding of one of the management field’s fundamental concepts.
This research project was conducted in collaboration with:
Jean-Luc Arrègle (emlyon)
Michael A. Hitt (Texas A&M)
Donald Bergh (Denver).
“Organizational autonomy is a scale-free construct as it applies at the different levels within an organization, where an organizational unit (e.g., a team, a function, a business division, a subsidiary) is ontologically defined within some organizational boundaries at the next superordinate level.”
Organizational autonomy is a scale-free construct. It is requires collective decision rights within a hierarchy and common organizational boundaries. Hence, it is different from individual autonomy and from inter-organizational autonomy.
Our review also clarifies the nomological relations with other constructs such as independence, integration, control, and decentralization.
Back to Organizational Autonomy