Organizational formation and change: lessons from economic laboratory experiments

Abstract

This chapter reviews research in which economic laboratory experiments are used to shed light on the processes that influence organizational formation and change. An organization, in these experiments, is represented by an abstract collective production activity that takes place in a controlled laboratory setting with incentivized human subjects. The studies typically attempt to identify factors that enhance efficient production and coordination. Our review focuses on studies that explore key features of how organizations originate, grow, and implement change, and the roles of communication and leadership in managing these processes. Our survey concludes that laboratory experiments of this type present a useful way to identify important factors that influence the relationship between individual behaviors and organizational performance at critical stages, which might otherwise be difficult to isolate outside the laboratory. Moreover, this research presents a valuable complement to traditional approaches in organizational research.