Abstract The outcomes of centralized or decentralized decision making in public organizations have been a subject of intense debate in the literature for more than a century now. This study revisits this debate by examining whether the degree of centralization influences the implementation of four types of organizational changes: reorganization, service contracting, technology adoption, and performance information use. We conceive of organizational decision making as a ladder—at one end is a very centralized approach where the chief executive primarily makes all major decisions, and at the opposite end is a highly decentralized approach where lower-level employees participate in shaping strategic decisions. Using the results from a national survey of midsized and large city governments, the ordered probit regressions, and additional robustness tests, show that moderation matters more than the polar ends. Moreover, moderate centralization and decentralization have distinct influences on the implementation of different types of organizational change. The findings challenge the conventional thinking that the choice between centralization or decentralization is binary, where one structure is always better than the other. Consistent with contingency theory, public organizations demonstrate strategic behavior in the choice of decision-making structure to adapt to environmental and organizational contingencies.

中文翻译：

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不多也不少：集中化、分散化和组织变革

摘要 一个多世纪以来，公共组织中集中或分散决策的结果一直是文献中激烈争论的主题。本研究通过检查集中化程度是否影响四种类型的组织变革的实施来重新审视这一争论：重组、服务合同、技术采用和绩效信息使用。我们将组织决策视为阶梯——一端是高度集中的方法，首席执行官主要做出所有重大决策，另一端是高度分散的方法，较低级别的员工参与制定战略决策。利用对大中型城市政府的全国调查结果，有序概率回归，和额外的稳健性测试表明，适度比两极更重要。此外，适度的集权和分权对不同类型的组织变革的实施具有不同的影响。这些发现挑战了传统观念，即集中化或分散化之间的选择是二元的，其中一种结构总是比另一种更好。与权变理论一致，公共组织在选择决策结构以适应环境和组织突发事件时表现出战略行为。这些发现挑战了传统观念，即集中化或分散化之间的选择是二元的，其中一种结构总是比另一种更好。与权变理论一致，公共组织在选择决策结构以适应环境和组织突发事件时表现出战略行为。这些发现挑战了传统观念，即集中化或分散化之间的选择是二元的，其中一种结构总是比另一种更好。与权变理论一致，公共组织在选择决策结构以适应环境和组织突发事件时表现出战略行为。