Delegation and Organizational Structure in Small Businesses

Abstract

Two studies examined the influences of small business managers’ social expectations of others in close, nonbusiness relationships (attachment patterns) on their relationships with employees, tendencies toward delegation, and businesses’ organizational structures. Attachment patterns were predictive of a managers’expectations of others in business settings and the way in which they chose to structure decision-making authority in the organizations. Managers who were secure in their close relationships (e.g., with spouse, with parents) were more likely to have decentralized organizations. Managers who preferred to maintain distance in close relationships had largely centralized organizations. Those managers who found it difficult to get as close to others as they would like had ineffective patterns of delegation.