Hierarchy is a key characteristic of any complex system. This paper explores which notions of hierarchy are being used in the field of organization and management studies. Four distinct types of hierarchy are identified: a ladder of formal decision-making authority, a ladder of achieved status, a self-organized ladder of responsibility and an ideology-based ladder. A social mechanism-based perspective serves to define and distinguish these four types. Subsequently, the typology is further developed by comparing the four hierarchy types in terms of their tacit/explicitness, (in)transitivity and behavior- versus cognition-centeredness. This article contributes to the literature by dissecting the general metaphor of hierarchy into four different constructs and their social mechanisms, which serves to create a typology of the various ways in which complex social systems can be characterized as hierarchical. This typology can inform future research drawing on any type of hierarchy.

中文翻译：

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权威，地位，责任和意识形态的阶梯：迈向社会系统等级体系的类型

层次结构是任何复杂系统的关键特征。本文探讨了在组织和管理研究领域中正在使用哪些层次结构概念。确定了四种不同类型的层次结构：正式决策权限的阶梯，获得地位的阶梯，自组织的责任阶梯和基于意识形态的阶梯。基于社会机制的观点有助于定义和区分这四种类型。随后，通过比较四种层次结构类型的默认/显式性，（传递性）和行为-以认知为中心的方式，进一步发展了类型学。本文通过将层次结构的一般隐喻分解为四个不同的结构及其社会机制，为文学做出了贡献，这有助于创建将复杂的社会系统描述为等级制的各种方式的类型学。这种类型可以为将来在任何类型的层次结构上进行研究提供依据。