The Relationship between Organizational Characteristics and the Structure of the Information Services Function

Although much has been written about the centralization versus decentralization of information services, relatively little is known about how the structure of an organization influences the level of centralization or decentralization. This paper presents the results of a study which examined the organizational context of the information services function. The authors attempted to identify those organizational characteristics that are associated with the structure of the information services function. It was found that the organizational environment does have an influence upon the level of decentralization of information services. Few organizational characteristics, however, were found to influence the structure of information services consistently across all organizations. Further research relating organizational form to its impact on information services is suggested.