Information Technology & Organizational Design: A Longitudinal Study of Information Technology Implementations in the U.S. Retailing Industry, 1980–1996

A crucial question for organization theory concerns what types or forms of organization will co-evolve from the transformations defining the post-industrial or information age. The response of organizational theorists to this question is reflected in a diverse and growing body of literature on the evolution of new organization forms1. Most conceptual and empirical studies explain short-term local adaptations in organizational forms under various environmental conditions and social-organizational interactions. Many theoretical frameworks and empirical studies make no distinction between the emergence of new organizational forms and new industries. Several theories propose that new industries (and by implication new organization forms) emerge from entrepreneurial activity of new entrants2, or as an outcome of radical changes such as political revolutions3 or „destructive“ innovation4. It is clear, however, that the theory of adaptation in theories of organization evolution or mutation is largely undeveloped.