Observation and Theory in Development Administration

Abstract

thoughtful comments on earlier drafts. Errors and omissions remain my own.The development of sound empirical theory has been a major, and elusive, objective for students of comparative administration. It is suggested that the lack of progress toward this goal can be partly attributed to the "complexity " of the empirical phenomena (the "operational space") encompassed by the field. A review of the literature reveals that most existing studies are limited in their coverage of this "space. " Those which analyze explanatory variables over a relatively large range of levels of analysis (ie., studies which are contextually detailed) tend to focus on one, or a very few, units of analysis; more extensive research in terms of units tends to be confined to a single level of analysis, usually at the highest (systemic) or lowest (individual) levels. Systematic comparative analysis of characteristics of organizations as units (e.g., task and goal structures, internal differentiation, technology, autonomy, organizational control, and so on) is neglected. To redress this imbalance, and to refocus theory in comparative administration on those aspects of organization "design" most amenable to change, a "multilevel/multimethod" research strategy is proposed. Examples of recent studies conducted at multiple levels of analysis are used to illustrate this approach.

From Nonprofit Diversity to Organizational Multifunctionality: A Systems–Theoretical Proposal

“…Whereas both functional differentiation and organization present two key concepts of modernity (Bergthaller & Schinko, 2011;Leydesdorff, 2002;Luhmann, 1977Luhmann, , 1990Luhmann, , 1997Roth & Schütz, 2015;Schoeneborn, 2011;Seidl, 2005;Vanderstraeten, 2005;Wetzel & Van Gorp, 2014), the field of nonprofit studies appears to emphasize the latter concept considerably more than the former. A possible reason for this state of affairs is the intuitive, but unwarranted, association of functional differentiation with possible excesses of organizational departmentalization (Durant, 1998;Moon, 2013;Raju, Lonial, & Crum, 2011;Roth, Sales, & Kaivo-oja, 2017;Springer, 1977;Young, Hougland, & Shepard, 1981). It is true that the definitions of specific organizations as "nonprofit" or "nongovernmental" do imply functional differentiation by referring to profit and government as the, respective, categories of the economic and political systems.…”