Organizational responses to complexity: the effect on organizational performance

Abstract

This paper uses a complex adaptive systems view to examine two different organizational responses to turbulent, complex environments. We examined the internal make‐up of eight organizations that saw their environment the same way – as rapidly changing, complex and requiring aggressive change strategies. Half of these organizations chose a complexity absorption response to environmental turbulence, and half chose a complexity reduction response to environmental turbulence and complexity. The organizations pursuing a complexity absorption response outperformed those organizations with complexity reduction responses.

Citation

Ashmos, D.P., Duchon, D. and McDaniel, R.R. (2000), "Organizational responses to complexity: the effect on organizational performance", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 577-595. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534810010378597