Nature, antecedents, and consequences of managerial configuration-making preference

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explain the nature, antecedents, and consequences of managerial configuration-making preference. Based on a definition of configuration as the nature of the alignment between organisation strategy and structure, the study was focussed on the manager's views about strategy-structure fit, strategy-structure sequence, and organisational decision-making mode. The study targeted managers because they are more likely than other employees to be sensitized to the study variables. As configuration making had not previously been studied at the individual level of analysis, the research was exploratory and designed to contribute to theory. The study was conducted in a case research design with the individual manager as the unit of analysis. Study participants were selected to maximise the variability of characteristics that might influence the perception of the study variables. Sixteen middle to top level managers from four organisations in different businesses participated in the study. The participants took part in conversational interviews guided by questions around sensitising concepts developed from the literature. To ensure that theory developed was grounded in field data, the interview transcripts were subjected to utterance-based coding and analyses that moved the study from the particular to the general in a systematic manner. A within-transcript analysis was undertaken to reveal the respondent preferences and views about the study variables. This analysis led to the development of individual case narratives. To expose patterns and themes across the cases, a subsequent analysis was undertaken from a symbolic interactionist perspective. This analysis revealed the underlying meanings of the respondents' configuration making preferences, the joint and individual meaning antecedents, and the direct and indirect action consequences of the preferences. The results of the analysis enabled the development of a managerial configuration-making framework and specific propositions that address the study's purpose. The framework and propositions contribute to the development of configuration-making theory from the perspective of the individual manager. Study limitations, practice implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.