Organizational Ecology Theory: Organizations Affected by Their Environments
Version:1 / 1 Updated Date:11/12/2014 Original Contributor:Barry Latest Contributor:Barry
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Key Words
Organizations, Ecology, Evolution
Background / Metatheory:
The theory of evolution by natural selection originated as a powerful explanatory tool in the biological sciences. Since Darwin's time, basic ideas from the theory have been modified and adapted in ways that permit their application to a variety of issues, ranging from how the human mind works to the emergence of multi-galactic structures. The approach has proven to be well-suited for adapting certain approaches in the "conflict theory" tradition of society. The idea that social organizations compete for scarce resources against on another, and as species-like clusters (e.g. industries) has turned out to be a useful perspective for understanding longer-term changes in the distribution of organizational forms.
Terms & Definitions:
- frequency_distribution - a summary of the incidences of particular types in comparison to other related types
- organizational_form - properties shared by members of a set of organizations
- reproduce - generate new organizations of a similar form
- resources - material requirements for optimal functioning
- survival - persistence through time
- variability - the existence of different structure or function
- environment - aspects of an organization's surroundings that can provide or extract its resources
- fitness - the conformity of an organization's needs to the resources obtainable in its environment, and/or the conformity of its defenses against forces that would extract its resources
Scope Conditions:
- The theory applies under the condition that there are sets of multiple organizations.
- The theory applies under the condition that all organizations require resources that also are needed by some other organizations.
- The theory applies under the condition that there is a mechanism that brings about variability across organizations.
- The theory applies under the condition that there are insufficient resources to sustain all organizations.
Propositions:
- The greater the fitness of an organization to its environment, the greater its chance of survival.
- The greater an organization's chance for survival, the more likely its form will be reproduced.
- The more likely an organizational form is reproduced, the greater its frequency in the distribution of organizational forms.
Derivations:
- The greater the fitness of an organization to its environment, the greater its frequency in the distribution of organizational forms.
