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System Stress and the Persistence * of Emergent Organizations
Author(s) -
PERRY RONALD W.,
GILLESPIE DAVID F.,
MILETI DENNIS S.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.1974.tb00731.x
Subject(s) - demise , persistence (discontinuity) , task (project management) , service (business) , sociology , organizational change , transition (genetics) , economics , management , business , public relations , political science , marketing , law , engineering , geotechnical engineering , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
A model facilitating the prediction of organizational persistence or dissolution is presented through a series of propositions. Environmental change, community demands for service, organizational capacity, formalization, and task orientations are identified as important dimensions in determining the probability of organizational emergence, maintenance, or demise. The emergence and development of Neighbors in Need (NIN); a Seattle, Washington based welfare organization, is described to illustrate the viability of the model. NIN's career pattern shows a persistence beyond the period of environmental disruption because of the long‐term progressive nature of the system's stress, NIN's formalization, and its task specificity. But a reduction in system stress, the adoption of a more diffuse goal, and the organization's failure to promote interorganizational relations with the local agencies indicates the probable demise of the NIN.