Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Magdalena Dobrajska

Copenhagen Business School

Magdalena Dobrajska

The organization of decisions within firms

Abstract

Why is the organization of decisions within firms important? How does the organizational structure of decision-making within a firm affect organizational performance? How do firms adapt their decision-making structures? The relationship between organizational structure and firm performance is a central, but under-researched question in strategic management. This workshop is dedicated to the recent empirical research on the allocation of decision-making authority to individual decision makers within a firm, which represents a key dimension of organizational structure. This line of research opens up the black box of a firm often conceptualized as a unitary actor. It studies how configurations of decision makers in firms come about and how these configurations affect performance, e.g. through committing type I and type II errors. Research on organization of decisions within firms draws on the behavioral theory of the firm, organizational economics and organizational theory.