An economic analysis of matrix structure, using multinational corporations as an illustration

✍ Scribed by Tailan Chi; Paul Nystrom

• Book ID: 101288102
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 135 KB
• Volume: 19
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0143-6570
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1468(199805)19:3<141::aid-mde877>3.0.co;2-d

✦ Synopsis

This paper applies a comparative institutional perspective to the organizational design called matrix structure. After discussing the motivations for a multidimensional form of organization, the paper compares the transaction cost characteristics of the matrix (MX-form) structure with those of the well-known multidivisional (M-form) structure. This analysis reveals three advantages and three disadvantages of the matrix structure as well as two conditions affecting the efficacy of a matrix. Examples from multinational corporations are used throughout the paper to illustrate the analysis.