Organisation and Management Theory
Summary
Organisation and management theory examines how formal structures, behavioural processes and decision-making systems combine to shape the functioning of firms, non-profit bodies and public institutions. From early scientific management and bureaucratic models to human-centric and critical approaches, the field has investigated the balance between hierarchy and autonomy, stability and change, and formal rules versus informal norms. Recent decades have seen a shift towards understanding organisations as complex, adaptive systems in which communication flows, power relations and knowledge dynamics underpin performance, innovation and resilience. Interdisciplinary advances have explored themes such as institutional logics, enabling power, organisational ignorance and digital transformation, revealing how material resources, social processes and technological infrastructures co-evolve. Globally, improved management theory guides the design of governance frameworks, promotes inclusive and ethical leadership, and supports sustainable value creation across diverse institutional settings.
Research from Nature Portfolio
A 2023 study in a crisis context demonstrated that information technology governance moderates the impact of board characteristics—size, independence, diligence—on business continuity management, highlighting the strategic role of digital oversight in turbulent environments. In 2024, research on Chinese enterprises revealed that chief executives with scientific research backgrounds significantly enhance organisational digitalisation by fostering innovation-driven cultures, with stronger effects in non-state firms and those embedded in advanced digital economies. Another recent work from South Asia analysed the relationship between boardroom independence and firm financial performance in emerging markets, finding a negative association driven by close ties between non-executive directors and dominant shareholders, thus underlining complex ownership-governance interactions in concentrated economies.
Organisation and Management Theory publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in organisation and management theory across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Information technology governance: The system of structures and processes that align IT strategy, risk management and performance monitoring with organisational goals.
Digitalisation: The integration of digital technologies into organisational processes to improve efficiency, innovation and decision-making.
Board independence: The presence of directors free from management ties, enhancing unbiased oversight and strategic accountability.
Organisational ignorance: A state of collectively maintained unknowing, deliberate or emergent, that influences learning and decision processes.
Enabling power: Forms of organisational power that empower actors through mechanisms such as shared language, formal roles and community norms.
References
- The moderating role of information technology governance in the relationship between board characteristics and continuity management during the Covid-19 pandemic in an emerging economy. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2023).
- Impact of CEO’s scientific research background on the enterprise digital level. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2024).
- Nexus between boardroom independence and firm financial performance: evidence from South Asian emerging market. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2024).
- Ignorance in organisations – a systematic literature review. Management Review Quarterly (2023).
- Power as an enabling force: An integrative review. Human Relations (2022).
- Critical Management Studies: A Critical Review. Journal of Management Studies (2024).
- Organizational Theory as a Context for Dynamic Change Management.
About these summaries
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