MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Designing Organizations Around Technology

  • 11m
  • Carliss Baldwin (Harvard Business School), interviewed by Gerald C. Kane
  • MIT Sloan Management Review
  • 2020

Harvard Business School professor Carliss Baldwin explains how modularity affects team structures.

MIT Sloan Management Review: When I saw you give a talk, you made the provocative statement that basically organizations are “designed around the technology of the day.” Can you tell me a little bit more, or if my memory needs refreshing, refresh that phrase?

Carliss Baldwin: That is my thesis. I have to skirt around the accusation of technological determinism. I don’t think technology is destiny, but I do think that companies that understand the requirements and opportunities that a technology brings will be rewarded in a free market. Today we are seeing the emergence of new types of organizations in response to new technologies.

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  • MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Designing Organizations Around Technology