Affiliations: [a] Bryant College, Rhode Island, RI 02917-1284, USA. Tel.: +1 401 232 6000; Fax.: +1 401 232 6319. E-mail: rconti@acad.bryant.edu | [b] Judge Institute of Management Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1AG, UK. Tel.: +44 1 223 339591; Fax.: +44 1 223 339701. E-mail: m.warner@dial.pipex.com
Abstract: This article discusses new forms of technology-driven business organization, such as Business Process Re-engineering, Just-in-Time and so on, which focus on horizontal rather than vertical structures in firms. We consider theories of the firm to assess the effects of process specialization on the firm's ‘objective function’ and ask whether it represents a new paradigm for economic activity. We conclude that the number of firms that can be successfully organized on process lines will inevitably be small, that where likely process organization will bring competitive advantage for successful implementers, but that firms organized as a hierarchy of teams will retain pockets of functionally organized activities.
Keywords: Business Process Re-engineering, hierarchy, learning organization, Just-in-Time, manufacturing systems, teams, technology, Theories of the Firm
