Re-exploring the relationship between flexibility and the external environment

The organizational structure literature has long posited that increases in uncertainty should lead to organic (adaptable) structures [T. Burnes, G.M. Stalker, The Management of Innovation, Tavistock Publications, London, 1961]. Similarly, the operations management literature has focused on the importance of flexibility as a competitive weapon [e.g., De Meyer et al., 1989 Strategic Manage. J. 10 (1989) 135], and as a response to environmental uncertainty [Manage. Sci. 33 (1987) 509; Manage. Sci. 39 (1993) 395]. However, our recent attempts to empirically validate a relationship between environmental uncertainty and operational flexibility in manufacturing plants have failed to show a significant relationship [J. Operations Manage. 3 (1999) 307]. The present research attempts to rectify these contradictory findings by replicating and extending the works of [Manage. Sci. 33 (1987) 509] as well as [J. Operations Manage. 3 (1999) 307]. The results find no support for the proposition that firms that respond to increased uncertainty with increased flexibility will experience increased performance.