Editorial

Abstract

Periodically, leading scholars in the organization sciences have paused to reflect on the status of organization and management theory (e.g., Perrow, 1973; Hambrick, 1993; Huber, 2010). Their overall conclusions have been strikingly similar: organization and management theories may matter a great deal to the scholars who produce them, but they matter very little to managers. As an applied discipline, the field of organization design offers a true opportunity to bridge the worlds of scholarly research and management practice. Problems of organization design exist at the nexus of theory and practice, demanding rich understanding, robust theorizing, strong empirical analysis, and futuristic thinking. Further, with rapid technological evolution, new forms of organizing, and dynamic economic and social environments within and across countries, problems of organization design in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors are ever more complex and challenging, for both researchers and managers.