Journey of a concept: span of control – the rise, the decline, and what is next?

Abstract

Purpose Although the topic of span of control (SOC) has been discussed in detail in management literature and education, less focus has been placed on the decline research since the 1970s and, thus, the future relevance of the concept. By providing a historical overview of the literature on SOC through the work of key management scholars, this paper aims to explain why the literatures’ coverage of the topic has been significantly diminished in recent decades and offers suggestions as to why further research on the topic is needed. Design/methodology/approach The authors provide a historical literature review and analysis on the decline of SOC as a construct of interest. Findings The findings of the paper include a brief analysis of SOC. The concept was a very strong concept that declined as management became more scientific, rejecting classical management theory. This rejection occurred because SOC was impacted by multiple factors making it impossible to effectively study, making it imprecise. Likewise, SOC is too applied and lacked theoretical relevance. However, SOC still has value, especially when paired with a theory such as leader-member-exchange (LMX). Originality/value The authors argue that SOC is still relevant today and management scholars should align its study with its practice in modern organizational structures. However, its focus needs to change and be added to other theories such as LMX.

Personality research in the 21st century: new developments and directions for the field

“…Yet, we view these limitations not as obstacles to be overcome but as challenges to conquer. Indeed, as constructs evolve over time, as demonstrated by other historical assessments (Bendickson et al, 2016;Justin and Joy, 2022;Zoller and Muldoon, 2020), we have shown that personality has evolved as well and has become even more robust, as researchers attempt to explore all of the ways by which different facets of personality can influence how individuals impact organizations. Thus, we end our review by figuratively "throwing down the gauntlet" to current and future personality scholars, calling upon them to take up the mantle of tackling the new challenges of personality research in the 21st century and hope that this review serves as a useful steppingstone in that endeavor.…”

“…Concepts also decline in their usefulness over time. Zoller and Muldoon (2020) show this by investigating how span of control, which dominated the management literature in the 1970s, has steadily declined as research in the management field became more scientific in nature. Indeed, as these studies demonstrate, there is value in examining constructs and how they evolve over time.…”

Span of Control and Ethical Leadership in Highly Professionalized Public Organizations

“…The literature on span of control proposes that there is a maximum number of employees that a manager can effectively supervise (Doran et al, 2004; Meier & Bohte, 2000). Span of control has widespread implications for the study of behavior in organizations (Gittell, 2001; Hechanova-Alampay & Beehr, 2001; Meier & Bohte, 2003; Moon & Park, 2019; Zoller & Muldoon, 2020). Importantly, a wide span of control can hinder active leadership behavior (Lucas et al, 2008; McCutcheon et al, 2009).…”

A systematic examination of the family business contributions: is this domain a legitimate field of research?

“…family business) research evolves over time, are important for advancing knowledge in scientific fields because they aid in the synthesis of extant knowledge, reveal important gaps in the literature and encourage growth in research (Short, 2009) and assess the legitimacy of a field (Edmonson and McManus, 2007). Moreover, tracing the influence of organizational concepts, their derivatives and offshoots and subsequent research streams, is an important endeavor for understanding the past, present and future of organizational science and practice (Zoller and Muldoon, 2020).…”