Research studying how Information Technology (IT) adoption affects managers has typically focused on how IT can complement and substitute for manager work, leading to increases in span of control. However, previous work has not accounted for how work is coordinated in the adopting organization. Some managers spend relatively little time processing and communicating information prior to IT adoption. As such managers process and communicate new information provided by IT, they may spend more time coordinating with subordinates based on this new performance feedback. Thus, in some cases IT adoption could lead to managers supervising fewer subordinates, contrary to conventional wisdom and prior results. Using data on hospital divisions, IT adoption, and occupational activities, I find evidence that span of control does indeed decrease for some managers with IT adoption. The analysis indicates that changes in the number of front-line managers primarily drive the overall results.
Keywords: Coordination, information technology, managers, organization design, performance feedback
Citation: Hall, T. A. (2026). Digital technologies, organization structure, and coordination by feedback: lessons from information technology adoption. Journal of Organization Design, 1-23.
With John W. Gardner and Zachary Wright
Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) can influence the way people relate and coordinate to improve performance. Our research explores how human–AI interactions affect relational coordination and operational performance. Competing views suggest that AI may augment or substitute for human capabilities. To examine conflicting views, we build on affordance theory, which suggests that the interactions between people and technology provide (i.e., afford) multiple potential actions, which could stimulate or diminish human interactions. Given the importance of human interactions during times of increasing technology use, we focus on relational coordination with its explicit emphasis on human relationships built on mutual respect and shared goals in fostering coordination. We introduce and find evidence of the concepts of convergent and divergent affordances to explain how AI affordances can result in similar or different outcomes. We perform multiple progressive, behavioral experiments in a virtual factory setting where participants work in teams with three functional roles, including operations, demand, and quality. We randomly assign individuals to one of three treatment groups that differ in the number of teammates that receive recommendations from an analytical AI based on machine learning. Through quantitative, qualitative, replication, recording, and multiphase methods, we find that human–AI interactions can stimulate relational coordination between individuals and improve team performance. We propose a theoretical framework, the ACT cycle, that explains how people interact with AI and with one another based on discussion, trust, and use of AI. Through recording and observing teams, we find evidence of various paths of interaction in that framework. We also find that discussion of AI can stimulate relational coordination, particularly in early phases of team interactions. The results provide theoretical and practical insights into how AI can stimulate relational benefits of human–technology interactions.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI), relational coordination, affordance theory, human-technology interaction, behavioral experiment
Citation: Hall, T. A., Gardner, J. W., & Wright, Z. A. (2026). Does Artificial Intelligence Stimulate or Diminish Human Interactions? An Affordance Perspective on AI, Relational Coordination, and Performance. Production and Operations Management, 35(6), 2496-2515.
With Victor Bennett and Ines Black
Several literatures in strategy propose models of the displacement of incumbent firms by newer firms that adopt newer technologies. Although that pattern likely plays out often, it is also often the case that incumbents adopt new technologies less intensively than entrants and yet, are not displaced; the new and old firms coexist. We propose one explanation built on the fundamental notion in strategy of the importance of fit between activity system components. We combine three existing models from strategy in a way that allows us to generate novel predictions. When corroborated, these predictions suggest that the patterns we observe are likely the result of issues of multidimensional fit and cannot be explained by a simpler model. One model predicts that market segment choice is a function of the order of entry. A second suggests that organizational form must fit with market segment choice, and a third suggests that information technology adoption returns depend on organizational form. Jointly, these models produce a chain of logic explaining why early entrants might be less likely to adopt information technology. The combined model also yields a novel prediction about when we expect this pattern to emerge. Specifically, in settings without a sufficiently large scope for product customization or the possibility of variation in organizational form, we predict that the relationship between entry order and technology adoption is attenuated. We find patterns consistent with our predictions using rich employer-employee linked administrative data from Portugal.
Keywords: Organizations, Software, Complements, Technology adoption, Entry
Citation: Bennett, V. M., Black, I., & Hall, T. A. (2023) Market Segment, Organizational Form, and Information Technology Fit. Strategy Science 9(1):38-57.
With Sharique Hasan
Many organizations have embraced formal experimentation, i.e., A/B testing, to improve the performance of their products and services. Experimentation, some have argued, should democratize innovation inside organizations by creating a platform to test new ideas, regardless of origin. In this article, we argue that experimentation’s promise hinges on having the proper organizational decision-making process that encourages innovation while mitigating the risk of unanticipated failures. We study this question by developing a model of experimentation inside organizations, where decisions to implement are either centralized or decentralized—a tension identified by practitioners and scholars alike. Organizations with centralized mechanisms that rely too much on the input of other teams benefit least from experimentation, as do ones with completely decentralized ones. In contrast, organizations with mostly decentralized decisions, with a single authority that sets consistent thresholds for implementation, achieve growth but with less downside risk. Thus, without considering the organizational decision-making structure, the benefits of experimentation may be limited.
Keywords: Experimentation, Digitization, Organizations, Decision-making
Citation: Hall, T. A., & Hasan, S. (2022). Organizational decision-making and the returns to experimentation. Journal of Organization Design, 11(4), 129-144.
With Victor Bennett
What happens to market structure as an industry's operations lean ever more on software? We find that software availability is associated with an increase in entry and an increase in exit by the oldest and most established firms. We suggest three potential mechanisms and, through post hoc analysis, determine which is most consistent with observed patterns. We find the effect of software availability on entry is stronger in settings with more available IT talent, more permissive labor policies, and greater demand uncertainty. Observed patterns are most consistent with software enhancing labor productivity and thus reducing exposure to uncertainty.
Keywords: Digitization, Entrepreneurship, Entry, Scaling, Software
Citation: Bennett, V. M., & Hall, T. A. (2020). Software availability and entry. Strategic Management Journal. 41(5). 950-962