Principles of forecasting: A handbook for researchers and practitioners. Research in Organizational Behavior, 30: 55вЂ“89.

The functions and dysfunctions of hierarchy. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Specifically, we find that a negatively skewed (inverse pyramidвЂ“shaped) formal hierarchy enhances team performance relatively to a positively skewed (pyramid-shaped) hierarchy when task variety is high, but not when task variety is low. A field study of 68 clinical nursing shifts in five mid-sized hospitals supports a key theoretical prediction. The modeling results reveal how the effects of the six hierarchies are contingent upon task characteristics that influence team membersвЂ™ perspective-taking accuracy (e.g., task variety), and enable us to craft an expanded, team-level theory of the association between formal hierarchical differentiation and team performance. We use the propositions to parameterize an agent-based computational model in which formal hierarchical differentiation influences team performance by creating power imbalances that affect team membersвЂ™ perspective-taking motivation, and by influencing membersвЂ™ social identification with the team. Next, we develop three propositions explaining the effects of hierarchy on team membersвЂ™ cognition and behavior. First, we identify six вЂњpure typeвЂќ formal hierarchies that teams might employ. We adopt a multi-method approach to consider the utility of alternative hierarchical shapes.

Prior research has focused primarily on pyramid-shaped formal hierarchies, despite documented limitations of the pyramid structure.

Formal hierarchical differentiation is a cornerstone of the organizing process.

Armstrong piccolo 290