Organization structure and cooperative market relations

A linear model is used as the vehicle for analyzing some of the interactions between an organization's cooperative market relations (product forms) and its structure (decomposition and coordination). Normative implications for organizational choice, and a set of conclusions concerning the nature of organizational change and growth for practical use are developed. The concept of product form as a description of cooperative market relations is the basis for relating the activities of the firm to its market environment. The decision on product form is viewed as a decision on the resource usage vector, and hence as a decision on the nature of the linear programming model formulated. The decision on the decomposition of this linear model and on the solution procedure are viewed as decisions on organization structure. They are viewed as decisions on the partitioning of the organization's decision variables into divisions and on the mechanisms used to coordinate these divisions. © 1976.

Duke Scholars

Author Richard M. Burton Fuqua School of Business