DOES ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE MATTER? ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONING AND EFFECTIVENESS

Managers often see new organizational design as the solution to many problems. This paper explores the relationship between organization structure (design), functioning of organizations, and effectiveness. A study of 320 companies showed that the structural variable, decentralization, marginally affected the way in which organizations function. Functional variables had a minor impact on profitability. No direct relationship between structure and effectiveness was found. When functioning is conceptualized as a mediating factor no direct causality between structure and effectiveness is implied, but a relationship between structure, function and effectiveness. To improve effectiveness, reorganizing is probably not the first option to consider.