The Relationship Between Organizational Structure and Office Layout: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Strategic alignment between business goals and real estate portfolios gained significance after the COVID-19 pandemic. One aspect of alignment at the workplace level involves optimizing the relationships between organizational structure and office layouts. Previous studies focus only on how layout design is affected by hierarchy, rank, or organizational charts, which provide a limited understanding of the role of organizational structure. This systematic review aims to synthesize variables that operationalize the relationship between office layout and organizational structure, and the nature of the relationships. This review follows Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and starts from Mintzberg’s theory of organizational structures. Content analysis of the 31 papers included empirical studies and identified relevant variables, methods, theories, and relationships between variables. Relationships between layout and structure involved communication issues in office environments, facilitation of work patterns, monitoring employees’ behavior through spatial means, and expressions of power and hierarchy. The informal structure of organizations emerged as a key feature that depends on layout design too. Organizational culture, job characteristics, and organizational flexibility were also concepts that influenced the relationship between structure and layout. This study provides a foundation for further studies of the role of organizational structure in workplace design research. It also enhances understanding of an office layout’s alignment with organizational strategy as a means of enhancing organizational performance. Future studies could examine the integration between the formal and informal structure in office layouts, symbolization of culture, or the interplay between job characteristics and organizational structure in hybrid work settings.