The ambiguity of natural language as resource for organizational design: A computational analysis

Abstract

This paper intends to contribute, theoretically and methodologically, to the debate in organizational design’s research on the need of new approaches and tools able to cope with the increasing complexity of the organizations and of the environments in which they operate.The article presents a set of simulative experiments carried out through an agent-based computational laboratory (Computational Laboratory of Organizational Design-CLOD), to explore the eventual benefits on organizational performances obtained through informal coordination mechanisms based on natural language. Main results of the research show that internal coordination mechanisms based on informal systems, like the natural language, allow organizations to achieve better performances under different external and internal conditions. Particularly, in turbulent environments the coordination through natural language provides the organizations with additional capabilities to adapt to changing external requirements.