Research Summary
Research Summary
Overview
Description
Pushing decision authority downward and increasing employee autonomy have become watchwords for the modern organization. Leaders of contemporary organizations view efforts to replace “command and control” systems with less-hierarchical approaches to organizing as necessary in an increasingly dynamic and competitive marketplace. Despite this, most research in this area focuses on approaches that incrementally reduce hierarchical control, such as empowerment, self-managed teams, and even organic designs. We know little about the dynamics and consequences of efforts to radically depart from the traditional managerial hierarchy.
Michael's research seeks to deepen our understanding of less-hierarchical organizing by studying organizations that eliminate managerial authority altogether, which he labels self-managing organizations. Because of the empirical and theoretical novelty of this phenomenon, he employs inductive, qualitative methods to understand the internal dynamics of such systems and build testable theories. However, he also draws on field experiments and survey methods to assess the consequences of such systems.
A core theme of Michael's research is the power of participatory and dynamic formal structures. His job market paper, an inductive qualitative case study of an organization that eliminated hierarchical authority, proposes that increasingly formalized role structures – which were defined through a participatory process and frequently revised—enabled the organization to maintain accountability and control without relying on hierarchical authority, while simultaneously strengthening employee autonomy. A second paper expands on this insight, proposing that meso-level interaction structures that are adapted based on team member input can enable the emergence of relational dynamics characterized by respect, openness and connectedness.
Michael's research seeks to deepen our understanding of less-hierarchical organizing by studying organizations that eliminate managerial authority altogether, which he labels self-managing organizations. Because of the empirical and theoretical novelty of this phenomenon, he employs inductive, qualitative methods to understand the internal dynamics of such systems and build testable theories. However, he also draws on field experiments and survey methods to assess the consequences of such systems.
A core theme of Michael's research is the power of participatory and dynamic formal structures. His job market paper, an inductive qualitative case study of an organization that eliminated hierarchical authority, proposes that increasingly formalized role structures – which were defined through a participatory process and frequently revised—enabled the organization to maintain accountability and control without relying on hierarchical authority, while simultaneously strengthening employee autonomy. A second paper expands on this insight, proposing that meso-level interaction structures that are adapted based on team member input can enable the emergence of relational dynamics characterized by respect, openness and connectedness.