Operationalizing the Concept of Conflicting Functional Demands

A number of authors have described the challenge of managing organizations that are subject to conflicting functional demands. These authors belong to different sub‐disciplines of the field, and have demonstrated that conflicting external demands may result in inconsistent strategies, organizational structures, and management practices. Although the issue is widely recognized, the concept of ‘conflicting functional demands’ has rarely been operationalized. The lack of operationalization complicates the interpretation of existing research. It also leads to weak prescriptions for practice. The question raised in this paper is thus how we may operationalize this concept and assess it empirically. The key proposal is to separate between function and structure (or ends and means) and to define functional conflict as a negative interdependency between a particular function (e.g., a goal or requirement) and a structural element (e.g., an organizational unit). This reconceptualization suggests an alternative manner in which to test dualistic models that contain two opposing factors, such as exploration vs. exploitation, related vs. unrelated diversification, or broad vs. narrow strategy.