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Hierarchies, Knowledge, and Power Inside Organizations

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanni Dosi

    (Institute of Economics and EMbeDS, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa 56127, Italy)

  • Luigi Marengo

    (Department of Business and Management, LUISS University, Rome 00197, Italy)

  • Maria Enrica Virgillito

    (Institute of Economics and EMbeDS, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa 56127, Italy)

Abstract

This paper contributes to an old and still unresolved question in the theory of organizations, namely, what do bosses do? Whether and to what extent managerial functions are productive or not for the well functioning of an organization has to be understood with respect to the tension between knowledge and power . Here, we start addressing such a tension with reference to the very nature of organizations. Next, we discuss its historical unfolding in two archetypical organizational modes of production, Taylorism and Toyotism. Third, these two archetypical configurations are studied by means of a model of organizations populated by three sets of agents, workers, managers, and the principal, endowed by different attributes and functions. The fitness of alternative organizational setups is studied under diverse degrees of complexity of the landscape.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Dosi & Luigi Marengo & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2021. "Hierarchies, Knowledge, and Power Inside Organizations," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(4), pages 371-384, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orstsc:v:6:y:2021:i:4:p:371-384
    DOI: 10.1287/stsc.2021.0136
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    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2021.0136
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Lorenzo Corno & Giovanni Dosi & Luigi Marengo, 2025. "Behaviours and Learning in Complex Evolving Economies," GREDEG Working Papers 2025-14, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    2. Lorenzo Corno & Giovanni Dosi & Luigi Marengo, 2025. "Behaviours and Learning in Complex Evolving Economies," LEM Papers Series 2025/11, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    3. Giovanni Dosi, 2024. "Why is economics the only discipline with so many curves going up and down? There is an alternative," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 14(1), pages 1-34, March.

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