Organizational configurations and performance: the role of statistical power in extant research

Abstract

The relationship between organizational configurations and performance has been a frequent albeit controversial subject of research in the field of strategic management. Many studies have failed to find a link between configurations and performance, leading prominent researchers to question the value of the concept of organizational configurations. Before the concept can be discarded, however, other plausible explanations for the lack of findings should be examined. This paper examines the possible role of statistical power. Specifically, it may be that the sample sizes in many studies are too small to detect relationships between configurations and performance when such links are, in fact, present. Analysis of 24 tests of the configurations–performance link revealed that only 8 percent had samples large enough to detect all important relationships. Thus, there is reason to suspect that insufficient statistical power may help to explain extant results. Given these findings, suggestions are presented for improving the ability of configurational studies to detect relationships. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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