David A. Nadler (1948–2015) American organizational theorist
Source: "Information Processing as an Integrating Concept in Organizational Design." 1978, p. 613: Abstract
Julian Birkinshaw, Robert Nobel, and Jonas Ridderstråle. "Knowledge as a contingency variable: do the characteristics of knowledge predict organization structure?." Organization science 13.3 (2002): 274-289.
David A. Nadler (1948–2015) American organizational theorist
Source: "Information Processing as an Integrating Concept in Organizational Design." 1978, p. 613: Abstract
Richard Boyatzis (1946) American business theorist
Source: Competent manager (1982), p. 21.
Lex Donaldson (1947) British-Australian organizational sociologist
Lex Donaldson, "The normal science of structural contingency theory." Studying Organizations: Theory and Method. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage (1999): 51-70.
Context: Within organization studies, contingency theory has provided a coherent paradigm for the analysis of the structure of organizations. The paradigm has constituted a framework in which research progressed leading to the construction of a scientific body of knowledge... Contingency theory states that there is no single organizational structure that is highly effective for all organizations. It sees the structure that is optimal as varying according to certain factors such as organizational strategy or size. Thus the optimal structure is contingent upon these factors which are termed the contingency factors. For example, a small-sized organization, one that has few employees, is optimally structured by a centralized structure in which decision-making authority is concentrated at the top of the hierarchy, whereas a large organization, one that has many employees, is optimally structured by a decentralized structure in which decision-making authority is dispersed down to lower levels of the hierarchy.
Jeffrey Pfeffer (1946) American academic
2003; 39
The External Control of Organizations, 1978
Gerald R. Salancik (1943–1996) American organizational theorist
2003; 39
The External Control of Organizations, 1978
Richard M. Burton (1939)
Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel, Gerardine DeSanctis (2011). Organizational Design: A Step-by-Step Approach. p. 3
Gerardine DeSanctis (1954–2005) American organizational theorist
Richard M. Burton Børge Obel, Gerardine DeSanctis (2011). Organizational Design: A Step-by-Step Approach. p. 3
Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901–1972) austrian biologist and philosopher
Source: 1930s, Modern Theory of Development, 1933, 1962, p. 46
Paul R. Lawrence (1922–2011) American business theorist
Source: "Differentiation and integration in complex organizations," 1967, p. 2