TY - JOUR AU - Giovanni Dosi, Daniel A. Levinthal, Luigi Marengo AB - In this paper we present a general model of organizational problem‐solving in which we explore the relationship between problem complexity, decentralization of tasks and reward schemes. When facing complex problems that require the co‐ordination of large numbers of interdependent elements, organizations face a decomposition problem that has both cognitive dimensions and reward and incentive dimensions. The former relate to the decomposition and allocation of the process of generation of new solutions: since the search space is too vast to be searched extensively, organizations employ heuristics for reducing it. The decomposition heuristic takes the form of division of cognitive labour and determines which solutions are generated and become candidates for selection. The reward and incentive dimensions fundamentally shape the selection environment which chooses over alternative solutions. The model we present begins to study the interrelationships between these two domains of analysis: in particular, we compare the problem‐solving performance of organizations characterized by various decompositions (of coarser or finer grain) and various reward schemes (at the level of the entire organization, team and individual). Moreover we investigate extensions of our model in order to account for (admittedly rudimentary) power and authority relationships (giving some parts of the organization the power to stop changes in other parts), and discuss the interaction of problem representations and incentive mechanisms. Copyright Oxford University Press 2003 « Previous | Next Article » Table of Contents This Article ICC (2003) 12 (2): 413-436. doi: 10.1093/icc/12.2.413 This article appears in: Special Issue: Theory of the Firm, Learning and Organization » Abstract Free Full Text (PDF) Free Classifications Article Services Article metrics Alert me when cited Alert me if corrected Find similar articles Similar articles in Web of Science Add to my archive Download citation Request Permissions Citing Articles Load citing article information Citing articles via CrossRef Citing articles via Scopus Citing articles via Web of Science Citing articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dosi, G. Articles by Marengo, L. Search for related content Related Content D21 - Firm Behavior D83 - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief O30 - General Load related web page information Share Email this article CiteULike Delicious Facebook Google+ Mendeley Twitter What's this? Search this journal: Advanced » Current Issue October 2015 24 (5) Alert me to new issues The Journal About this journal Rights & Permissions Dispatch date of the next issue We are mobile – find out more This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Journals Career Network Impact factor: 1.260 5-Yr impact factor: 2.183 Editors Glenn Carroll Giovanni Dosi Daniel Levinthal Franco Malerba Paul Nightingale David Teece Fredrik Tell Stefano Brusoni Managing Editor J Chytry, USA View full editorial board For Authors Information for authors Online submission instructions Submit online now! 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