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Publications

‘Organizing’, ‘Innovating’ and ‘Managing’ in Complexity Space

By: Michael C. Moldoveanu
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:47
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Abstract

We two-dimensional measure of organizational complexity that distinguishes between the informational and computational dimensions of complexity and aims to function as a maximally context-invariant environment for posing fundamental questions about organizational dynamics, akin to the role and function of a phase space in classical mechanics. The new measure and associated space allows us to understand the effects of a researcher’s or manager’s choice of model or representation on the resulting complexity measure of a phenomenon and to measure the complexity of any organizational phenomenon that can be represented in a form amenable to an algorithmic description. We use the new complexity measure to present a unified treatment of complexity coping mechanisms, complexity-driven organizational failure and complexity-adaptive innovation and draw new distinctions enabling new questions whose answers will be useful to researchers and executives alike.

Keywords

Organizational Dynamics; Organizations; Complexity; Adaptation; Innovation and Invention

Citation

Moldoveanu, Michael C. "‘Organizing’, ‘Innovating’ and ‘Managing’ in Complexity Space." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-128, June 2019.

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