CONFIGURATIONAL APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS

The 1993 Special Research Forum on Configurations is dedicated to the proposition that configurational theory and research can significantly advance understanding of people, groups, and organizations. In this i ntroductory essay, we define configurational approaches to organizatio nal analysis, trace the history of configurational thinking, distingui sh the contingency approach from the configurational approach, and hig hlight key contributions of the five empirical articles that make up t he special research forum. Most of these articles report research cond ucted at the organizational level of analysis, but we argue that the c onfigurational perspective has unrealized potential at other levels as well and suggest some configurational approaches to revitalizing theo ry and research at the individual and group levels.