Blau's Theory of Structural Differentiation Revisited: A Theory of Structural Change or Scale?

Authors

John B. Cullen, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Kenneth S. Anderson, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Douglas D. Blaker, Washington State University

Date of this Version

1986

Citation

Academy of Management Journal 1986, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 203-219.

Comments

Published by Academy of Management. Used by permission.

Abstract

The major objective of this study was to determine if Blau's (1970) theory of structural differentiation better captures differences in scale between organizations or structural changes within organizations. Data gathered on 134 Ph.D.-granting universities over nine years permitted us to compare results of within-organizations tests of Blau's theory those from both cross-sectional and longitudinal between-organization tests. The findings suggest that the theory's power lies in explaining structural differences between organizations rather than in explaining structural change.