Re‐exploring the relationship between flexibility and the external environment

Abstract 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.