Minimalist Organizational Design – a Research Project on Organizational Self-Management
Since February 2019, we have studied self-managing organizations in our Minimalist Organizational Design research project. Our research focus has been on:
1) Structures and leadership of these novel forms of organizations
2) Journey towards organizational self-management
3) Possible problems and dark sides of organizational self-management.
Our researchers work or study at Aalto University, Haaga-Helia UAS, Filosofian Akatemia and Tampere University. Throughout the project we have actively co-operated with seven companies (Debora, Futurice, JCDecaux, Metso Outotec, Reaktor and Telia). To boost their journey towards self-management, five of these companies participated to our MODe Master Class programme for two years. Impactful? Indeed, our survey results show that 60% of the respondents working in these companies said that their willingness towards self-managing had increased. Moreover, 48% were of the opinion that their superior’s competence to support self-management had increased since the beginning of the Master Class programme.
Our research funding ends at the end of April 2021, but we will continue to update this website and add the academic articles that we’ll publish in English. If you share our interest in doing research in self-managing organizations, we are happy to discuss different types of co-operation activities. Our contact addresses are listed here.
Papers and presentations in English
Kostamo, T., Launonen, R., Vänttinen, N. & Ahleskog, N. Self-management and leadership –An enlightenment towards “a man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity”? 35th EGOS Colloquium, 4-6 July, 2019, Edinburgh.
Kostamo, T., Vuori, J. & Salovaara P. Humanizing management through self-managing organizations. 36th EGOS Collequium, July 2-4, 2020, Online.
Launonen, R. & Kostamo, T. Self-managing organizations and democratic leadership –The place of leadership in democratic work life? International Studying Leadership Conference. 17 December, 2019 Bristol.
Martela, F. (2019) What makes self-managing organizations novel? Comparing how Weberian bureaucracy, Mintzberg’s adhocracy, and self-organizing solve six fundamental problems of organizing. Journal of Organization Design 8, 23 doi:10.1186/s41469-019-0062-9
Martela, F. The Narrow Corridor: The Necessity of Balancing Openness and Closeness in Organizational Structure, 7 November, 2019. Työelämän tutkimuspäivät, Tampere.
Martela, F, Heiskanen, P. & Liira, P. Profitability, quality, and employee well-being through self-managed organisations –theoretical insights and business cases, Skills and smart work organization in the digital era Conference. 3 July, 2019. Helsinki.
Salovaara, P. The bright and dark sides of self-management. Projektipäivät 2019.
Salovaara, P. & Collinson, D. Exploring the contemporary emergence of self-managing organizations. 35th EGOS Colloquium, 4-6 July, 2019. Edinburgh.
Salovaara, P. & Vuori, J.: Where is leadership in self-managing organizations? Empirical evidence of leadership in leaderless organizations. International Studying Leadership Conference, 17 December, 2019. Bristol.
Vänttinen, N. & Kostamo, T.: Power, status and hierarchy in a self-managing organizations. International Studying Leadership Conference, 17 December, 2019. Bristol.