A Strategic Contingencies' Theory of Intraorganizational Power

A strategic contingencies' theory of intraorganizational power is presented in which it is hypothesized that organizations, being systems of interdependent subunits, have a power distribution with its sources in the division of labor. The focus is shifted from the vertical-personalized concept of power in the literature to subunits as the units of analysis. The theory relates the power of a subunit to its coping with uncertainty, substitutability, and centrality, through the control of strategic contingencies for other dependent activities, the control resulting from a combination of these variables. Possible measures for these variables are suggested.