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Richard M. Burton

Professor Emeritus
Fuqua School of Business
Box 90120, Durham, NC 27708-0120
A214 Fuqua Sch of Bus, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Research Interests:

Organization Theory that focuses on the choice of organizational design and strategy: the development and study of organizational structures and processes to achieve efficient coordinated planning and control; and implementation of organizational strategy for performance. In this context, an organization is viewed as a large number of interdependent subunits and individuals each of whom has its own goals, structures, processes, information, and measures of performance.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor Emeritus · 2013 - Present Fuqua School of Business

In the News


Published January 21, 2021
August Books: Richard M. Burton, co-author: “Organizational Design: A Step-by-Step Approach”

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Recent Publications


Organizational resilience in emergency healthcare: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic in five Danish hospitals.

Journal Article Social science & medicine (1982) · February 2025 The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for healthcare professionals and the provision of hospital care, leading to immense stress and rapidly changing conditions. Hospitals had to constantly adapt their organizational structures and strategie ... Full text Cite

Expanding the organizational design space: the emergence of AI robot bosses

Journal Article Journal of Organization Design · March 1, 2024 AI robot bosses are becoming increasingly prevalent in organizations, and they expand the traditional organizational design space. Organizations can benefit from utilizing both robots and humans as bosses, as they can substitute for each other and work tog ... Full text Cite

How firm boundaries and relatedness jointly affect diversification value: trade-offs between governance and flexibility

Journal Article Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory · March 1, 2021 Diversification involves ongoing decisions about firm boundaries and relatedness. We develop a theoretical model that uses a real-option framework combined with optimal mechanism design to analyze how choices of boundaries and relatedness affect firm perfo ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Grants for Graduate Programs in Health Administration

Public ServicePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1992 - 1993

Traineeships for Students in Graduate Health Administration Programs

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1992 - 1993

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Illinois · 1967 D.B.A.