Administration Size and Organization Size: An Examination of the Lag Structure

Lag structure, the amount of time it takes a dependent variable to respond to changes in an independent variable, poses problems for researchers conducting longitudinal analysis. Since longitudinal studies permit increased understanding of causation in field research, an empirical basis is needed for understanding the lag structure of the relationship between organizational size and administration size. A sample of 139 colleges and universities selected from the Yearbook of Higher Education was used to study 3 lag models - contemporaneous, one-year lag, and 2-year lag. A major conclusion was that appropriate single time lags for longitudinal studies of organizational properties may not be appropriate for an entire organizational sample. Attempts to solve methodological problems of longitudinal study should focus on extent of change in a variable as a potential factor influencing lag time. For example, delta size (proportional change in enrollment) was best discriminated using a one-year lag time.