plication of notions such as selection and adaptation to organizational change. This approach follows the lead of institutionalists such as Selznick in assuming that the core features of an organization (those that shape its identity and determine its structure) are subject to strong inertial forces.
In their work Organizational Ecology (1989), the American sociologists Michael T. Hannan and John Freeman argued that reliability and accountability—the very properties that make organizations the favoured social forms in modern society—also discourage, and in some cases even prevent, organizations from changing their core features. The authors suggested that large changes in the world of organizations have come about at least partly through selection—that is, through the rise of organizations that embody new forms and new designs and through the demise of organizations whose forms were ill-suited to a changing environment.
In emphasizing selection rather than adaptation as the primary process through which organizations thrive or fail, it is nonetheless true that radical changes in an established organization’s core features can increase its risk of failure. The inertia that tends to characterize most large organizations can prevent them from adapting to new conditions (such as changes in the nature of the workforce, technological improvements, and challenges from new competitors). By the same token, these traits also provide opportunities for entrepreneurs outside the established organizations. When possible, nimble organizations that meet the challenges of a new environment can establish a strong position in the market before the established, dominant entities are able to enter the scene.
The key insights of organizational ecology can be traced to the discovery of a kind of imprinting in the world of organizations. In the behavioral sciences, imprinting refers to the process by which influences experienced during a given developmental period can have lasting—often lifelong—consequences. In Social Structure and Organizations (1965), the American sociologist Arthur L. Stinchcombe compared the American textile industry (one of the oldest industries in the country) with the newer automotive industry to argue that the key features of organizations in any industry are related to the era in which the industry emerges. Stinchcombe called this relation a “correlation of age and social structure.”
Ecological research finds that the dynamics of the organizational world get shaped by processes of legitimation and competition. In this context, legitimation refers to the extent to which a group or procedure is taken for granted. That is to say, an organizational form is legitimated when there is little or no dispute over the suitability of the form for the accomplishment of certain tasks. Competition refers to the “crowding” that occurs when multiple units (such as businesses and individuals) try to gain the same resources (such as customers and investors). More organizations will be created, and fewer organizations will fail, when the legitimation of the form is high and competition is weak. Extensive research shows that situations of high legitimation and low competition contribute strongly to the profusion and longevity of organizations.
As indicated by the preceding discussion, research on management has identified a strong interdependence among environment, organizational design, and strategy. Contemporary management scholars judge the quality of a company by the degree to which its strategy and organizational structure are symbiotic, yet they also consider whether the firm’s strategy and structure meet the demands of the external environment. As the speed of technological change accelerates and many firms seek to operate across diverse global environments, it becomes more difficult to achieve these complementary relationships. Organizational analysts document the ways in which firms face these challenges, and the outcomes of their studies ultimately cast light on the management approaches that appear to be the most effective. See