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Degree

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Organizational Behavior, 1990.

Abstract

The impact of organizational ideology on structural change in organizations is poorly understood as the determinants of structural change most often studied are the external environment, size, technology, strategy, and performance. The purpose of this research was to generate theory-based propositions describing how ideology impacts structural change. Three research questions guided this study: (1) What is the nature of an organizational ideology? (2) How does organizational ideology impact structural change? and (3) How does an organizational ideology emerge and affect the prevailing organizational ideology? This case study triangulated methods at three levels of organizational analysis to trace the impact of an executive's ideology on a divisional structural change. The executive's ideology was elicited using a Repertory Grid technique. This ideology was compared to the principles underlying the structure chosen and other possible structural choices, and best matched the form chosen. Questionnaire, interview, and archival data eliminated environment, size, strategy, technology and performance as possible determinants for the Divisional change. Using a SocioNet analysis, the decision maker's ideology was compared to the ideology of th e two Divisional Presidents he selected. In each case, 67% or more of the ideological elements were shared. Thus, the executive's ideology determined the type of structural change and one method of ideological propagation was through the selection process. A code developed from the decision-maker's ideology was applied to the Letter to the Shareholders, eight years before and seven years after he entered the organization. For the years after the executive's arrival, Chi-Square tests demonstrated a significantly greater occurrence of: (1) the total number of ideology elements, and (2) using the ideology to justify corporate structural changes. This shift from an individual to a corporate level ideology was supported by critical incident analysis and archival data. The theory and corresponding propositions generated include: (1) the phases and factors critical to the diffusion and institutionalization of an organizational ideology, (2) the reciprocal determinism of ideology and structure, and (3) the interaction between core and peripheral structures, and core and peripheral ideology elements. The contributions of new methodologies to the study of organizational ideology are also explored

Subject Headings

Business Administration, Management

Keywords

Corporate organization; ideology and structure

Advisor

David Kolb

Pages

322p.

Document number: case1059051028
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1059051028

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