Organizational Design: A Step-by-Step Approach - Hardcover

Burton, Richard M.; Obel, Børge; Håkonsson, Dorthe Døjbak

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1009607030 ISBN 13: 9781009607032

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2026

Synopsis

Today's organizations face rapid change, digital disruption, and rising demands for sustainability and resilience. This fifth edition text equips executives, students, and educators with a proven framework for designing effective organizations in complex environments. Built on decades of research, the multi-contingency model provides a step-by-step guide from diagnosis to design and implementation-now expanded to include knowledge interdependence, AI integration, sustainable development, and organizational resilience. Rich with real-world cases from LEGO, Microsoft, Haier, and Blackberry, the book blends theory with practice and offers clear visuals, intuitive 2x2 models, and tools to support hands-on learning and application. It helps readers understand who should do what, talk to whom, and-crucially-know what, in today's increasingly dynamic settings. Whether used in executive education or as a core text in MBA and business school courses, this updated edition is a comprehensive, accessible, and globally trusted guide to modern organizational design.

About this title

About the Authors

Richard M. Burton is Professor Emeritus at Duke University. In addition, he has an Honorary Doctorate from Aarhus University. He has served as associate editor of Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, and Journal of Organization Design. He has written numerous books and articles on organization design and strategy. He is a co-author of Organizational Design: A Step-By-Step Approach (2020).

Børge Obel is professor emeritus at Aarhus University and professor at EIASM, Brussels. He has held visiting positions at Duke, Stanford, the University of Ljubljana, and LUISS Business School. He is former rector of Aarhus School of Business and former dean at Aarhus University and Odense University. Obel chairs Zeal Aps, which he founded in 1980. He holds a Ph.D. and Dr. Oecon. from Aarhus University. He has published extensively in leading academic journals and co-authored Organizational Design: A Step-by-Step Approach (Cambridge University Press, 4th ed., 2020), translated into Italian, Chinese, and Vietnamese. He is a founding board member of the Organizational Design Community and was the founding editor of the Journal of Organization Design.

Dorthe Døjbak Håkonsson is a Professor of Management within the Department of Management, Aarhus University, where she also serves as Center Leader for the ICOA (Interdisciplinary Center for Organizational Architecture). She is a founding member and current board member of the Organization Design Community (ODC) and serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Organization Design. She teaches Organizational Design and Organizational Behavior across undergraduate, postgraduate, Ph.D., MBA, and executive levels, and delivers executive education both in Denmark and internationally. Her research has been published in leading international journals, including Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, and California Management Review.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009607030
• ISBN 13: 9781009607032
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 5
• Number of pages: 300