Journal of Organization Design

Ilseven, Ekin; Puranam, Phanish

2025 Journal of Organization Design

doi: 10.1007/s41469-024-00182-0

Assembly theory (AT) (Sharma et al., Nature 622:321–328, 2023) is a novel and ambitious perspective on the emergence of larger structures from smaller structures in the physical realm. It offers formal tools to infer the development trajectories of observed structures under some theory-driven assumptions. By mapping it onto the micro-structural perspective of organizations, we show how AT can also help us model organizational development and estimate the extent to which an observed organizational structure is (un)likely to have arisen by chance. We apply these to illustrate how we can infer the extent of non-randomness in the development history of an organization based on its current structure. We note theoretical and empirical implications for the study of organization design.

Puranam, Phanish

2025 Journal of Organization Design

doi: 10.1007/s41469-024-00183-z

Self-organization refers to the emergence of a global order (pattern) without global structures of interdependence or influence. While the concept has been fruitful in studying order in physical and biological systems, it has remained largely metaphorical when applied to human organizations. In fact, when examined closely, many iconic cases of people organizing themselves do not seem to meet the criteria for being considered pure instances of self-organization, as they show patterns of global influence (either centralized, such as informal leaders or decentralized, such as consensus processes). I propose a resolution based on distinguishing between order produced directly through self-organization (“Level 0”), and through global influence structures that themselves emerge through self-organization (“Level 1”). I argue that shifting our focus from Level 0 to the Level 1 self-organizing processes through which global structures of influence emerge, is a promising and important path forward to understanding decentralized forms of organizing.

Martela, Frank; Nandram, Sharda

2025 Journal of Organization Design

doi: 10.1007/s41469-024-00184-y

In this contribution to the Organization Zoo series, we examine Buurtzorg, a highly successful Dutch home care organization with over 14 thousand employees that operates without any supervisors or middle management. Given its size, it is a rare example of a self-managing organization that has radically decentralized decision-making to empower autonomous teams to operate highly independently while growing to thousands of employees. Buurtzorg’s case sheds light on the role of supportive structures, including purpose-built information and communication technology and a small team of internal coaches, that the firm uses to scale up a self-managing organization of over 900 independent teams.

Dai, Huiyang; Li, Lun; Li, Jizhen

2025 Journal of Organization Design

doi: 10.1007/s41469-024-00181-1

The internal digital experimentation platform offers a fresh avenue for employees to collaborate and communicate within the firm, facilitating rapid information and knowledge exchange among employees. Using a cooperation network on an internal digital platform for experiments, this study investigates the effects of three network centralities on employees’ innovation on the platform, based on the perspective of knowledge acquisition and absorption. We find that degree centrality increases the ways that employees gain knowledge, boosting the frequency of innovation but reducing its effectiveness due to insufficient knowledge integration. Betweenness centrality enhances the exchange of varied knowledge, which aids in knowledge absorption, therefore increasing both the frequency and the effectiveness of innovation. Closeness centrality improves access to immediately applicable knowledge, enhancing innovation effectiveness; simultaneously limits exposure to indirect knowledge sources, thereby reducing the frequency of innovation. Interdepartmental collaboration atmosphere and interdepartmental collaboration concentration are found to moderate such relationships. These findings provide implications for researches on network centrality, employee innovation, and knowledge management on digital experimentation platforms.