Dh. Doty et al., FIT, EQUIFINALITY, AND ORGANIZATIONAL-EFFECTIVENESS - A TEST OF 2 CONFIGURATIONAL THEORIES, Academy of Management journal, 36(6), 1993, pp. 1196-1250
Mintzberg's and Miles and Snow's configurational theories have both re
ceived widespread attention. Most researchers, however, have interpret
ed these theories in terms of categories of organizations rather than
organizational configurations based on ideal types. We explicated the
logical structure of configurational theories and developed a set of c
onfigurational fit models that are congruent with alternative assumpti
ons of equifinality, which is the premise that multiple organizational
forms are equally effective. Then the two theories were formalized wi
th these models and tested empirically. Contrary to our expectations,
the results do not support Mintzberg's theory that organizations will
be more effective to the extent that they resemble his five ideal type
s. In contrast with these null results, configurational fit based on M
iles and Snow's theory predicted 24 percent of the variance in overall
organizational effectiveness.