Congruence, Contingency, and Theory Building

Abstract

It is proposed that congruence and contingency are central features of Dubin's conditions for constructing and testing a theoretical model. Placing congruence and contingency research within an accepted framework for scientific inquiry is essential to understanding and predicting organizational phenomena. After reviewing select research, the present authors argue: (a) that congruence is defined by the laws of relationship of a theory's variables, and (b) that contingency is defined by the system states where the integrity of the system is maintained, but in a markedly different condition. Additional conceptual and empirical issues relating to congruence and contingency hypotheses are then discussed.

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