What Are the Triggers for Organization Design?

Contingency theory offers the rationale for why organizations choose to revise their design: to achieve a fit between the organization design and the context that the organization operates in, which is necessary for the organization to perform well. This implies that a redesign is needed if the internal or external context changes, preferably before dysfunctional behaviors begin to occur that point to a misfit. This contingency rationale can be hindered by inertial forces that lead a top management team away from reviewing and revising their organization design, even though there are clear reasons for doing so. These forces can be internal, such as the dynamics of political coalitions, or external, such as a threat to legitimacy if the organization were to adopt a new design. It is important to acknowledge that these and other forces will sometimes prevent the implementation of the design that has the best fit. At times, organizations arrive at a new organization design without following the contingency logic, but rather through processes of isomorphism that can make organizations in a particular field start to look alike. Isomorphism can stem from pressures from the environment, professionals sharing norms and practices across organizations, and from the tendency of organizations to model themselves after peers they perceive to be successful. These processes come with important caveats from the perspective of organization design.