An Approach for Assessing and Managing Inter-Unit Interdependence

A network perspective on organizational architecture: performance effects of the interplay of formal and informal organization

“…Within a structure of horizontal workflow relations, we make a further, and crucial, distinction between tasks involving reciprocal interdependence and sequential interdependence (Thompson, 1967). When the nature of task interdependence is reciprocal, the task involves a high degree of uncertainty, since the actions of each of the actors depend on the actions of the counterpart and the cause‐effect link is tenuous (McCann and Ferry, 1979). Thus, mutual adjustments and joint decision making are required for successful task execution when the workflow is of the reciprocal kind, unlike when it is sequential.…”

An Analysis of Supply Chain Collaborations and Their Effect on Performance Outcomes

“…As a result, firms need access to skills and resources they no longer "own" as suggested by RBV. In other words, firms became dependent on skills and knowledge resident in other firms (McCann and Ferry 1979). Interdependence is defined as the way in which different firms perceive they need each other to perform their work and reach certain outcomes (Nauta and Sanders 2000), when the actions in one firm affects the actions or outcomes in another firm (McCann and Ferry 1979), and/or the extent to which a unit's outcomes are controlled directly by or are contingent upon the actions of another unit (Victor and Blackburn 1987).…”

“…In other words, firms became dependent on skills and knowledge resident in other firms (McCann and Ferry 1979). Interdependence is defined as the way in which different firms perceive they need each other to perform their work and reach certain outcomes (Nauta and Sanders 2000), when the actions in one firm affects the actions or outcomes in another firm (McCann and Ferry 1979), and/or the extent to which a unit's outcomes are controlled directly by or are contingent upon the actions of another unit (Victor and Blackburn 1987). Interdependence occurs when the partners need each other, they have complementary assets and skills, and neither can accomplish what both can do together (Kanter 1994;Monczka, Petersen, Handfield, and Ragatz 1998).…”

Coordinating work in complex organizations

“…The coordination of these relations occurs through a variety of strategies adopted and implemented through managerial action (McCann and Galbraith, 1981;Thompson, 1967). Particular strategies are selected as the result of managerial perceptions of and responses to the problem (March and Simon, 1958;McCann and Ferry, 1979). Which strategy they select is, in part, a function of managers' beliefs about what workstheir 'norms of rationality' (Thompson, 1967).…”

“…To date, research has focused on the effects of at least three major structural criteria on the selecting of strategies to coordinate the relations between units: (1) degree of interdependence (Thompson, 1967;McCann and Ferry, 1979;Victor and Blackburn, 1987); (2) degree of differentiation (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967;Walker and Lorsch, 1968); and (3) degree of interest or goal conflict (Shapiro, 1977;Rubin, 1980). In general, this research has found that each structural criterion affects the type of coordination strategy selected by managers.…”