Coordinating work in complex organizations

Differentiation, interdependence, and interest conflict between work units were investigated as determinants of managerial selection between coordination strategies. One hundred and four MBA students with managerial experience participated in a simulation in which they were required to select a strategy to manage systematically different relations between work units. Findings reveal a three-way interaction between differentiation, interdependence, and interest conflict affecting the degree of cooperation and centralization of selected strategies. The formalization of such strategies was affected by an interaction between differentiation and interest conflict. Implications for theory and practice are described.

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