TY - JOUR
T1 - BEYOND the PYRAMID
T2 - ALTERNATIVE FORMAL HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURES and TEAM PERFORMANCE
AU - Wellman, Ned
AU - Applegate, J. M.
AU - Harlow, John
AU - Johnston, Erik W.
N1 - Funding Information: We thank Stephanie Cordell, Fadel Matta, Daniel McNeish, Elizabeth Segal, So-won Seon, Ajay Vinze, Dara Wald, and the management and employees at the five hospitals in our second study for their invaluable assistance. The research reported in this article was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation titled Promoting Empathy and Collaborative Decision Making for Natural Resource Management (NSF 029012-001).
PY - 2020/8
Y1 - 2020/8
N2 - Formal hierarchical differentiation is a cornerstone of the organizing process. Prior research has focused primarily on pyramid-shaped formal hierarchies, despite documented limitations of the pyramid structure. We adopt a multi-method approach to consider the utility of alternative hierarchical shapes. First, we identify six “pure type” formal hierarchies that teams might employ. Next, we develop three propositions explaining the effects of hierarchy on team members’ cognition and behavior. We use the propositions to parameterize an agent-based computational model in which formal hierarchical differentiation influences team performance by creating power imbalances that affect team members’ perspective-taking motivation, and by influencing members’ social identification with the team. The modeling results reveal how the effects of the six hierarchies are contingent upon task characteristics that influence team members’ perspective-taking accuracy (e.g., task variety), and enable us to craft an expanded, team-level theory of the association between formal hierarchical differentiation and team performance. A field study of 68 clinical nursing shifts in five mid-sized hospitals supports a key theoretical prediction. Specifically, we find that a negatively skewed (inverse pyramid–shaped) formal hierarchy enhances team performance relatively to a positively skewed (pyramid-shaped) hierarchy when task variety is high, but not when task variety is low.
AB - Formal hierarchical differentiation is a cornerstone of the organizing process. Prior research has focused primarily on pyramid-shaped formal hierarchies, despite documented limitations of the pyramid structure. We adopt a multi-method approach to consider the utility of alternative hierarchical shapes. First, we identify six “pure type” formal hierarchies that teams might employ. Next, we develop three propositions explaining the effects of hierarchy on team members’ cognition and behavior. We use the propositions to parameterize an agent-based computational model in which formal hierarchical differentiation influences team performance by creating power imbalances that affect team members’ perspective-taking motivation, and by influencing members’ social identification with the team. The modeling results reveal how the effects of the six hierarchies are contingent upon task characteristics that influence team members’ perspective-taking accuracy (e.g., task variety), and enable us to craft an expanded, team-level theory of the association between formal hierarchical differentiation and team performance. A field study of 68 clinical nursing shifts in five mid-sized hospitals supports a key theoretical prediction. Specifically, we find that a negatively skewed (inverse pyramid–shaped) formal hierarchy enhances team performance relatively to a positively skewed (pyramid-shaped) hierarchy when task variety is high, but not when task variety is low.
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U2 - 10.5465/AMJ.2017.1475
DO - 10.5465/AMJ.2017.1475
M3 - Article
SN - 0001-4273
VL - 63
SP - 997
EP - 1027
JO - Academy of Management Journal
JF - Academy of Management Journal
IS - 4
ER -