Abstract:

The aim of the paper is to present the results of quantitative studies on the intensity of organizational relationships (network embeddedness) and the flexibility of organizational structure in enterprises operating in inter-organizational networks. When it comes to the theoretical perspective, the method that has been used is critical literature review. As for empirical research, a quantitative approach has been incorporated. Specifically, the survey (questionnaire study, n=182) has been used. The results of the study show no statistically significant correlations between investigated aggregated variables, i.e. intensity of inter-organizational relationships and the flexibility of organizational structure. Yet, some interesting relationships appeared at the analytical level between network embeddedness and particular dimensions of organizational structure. Specifically, the findings show that the higher network embeddedness, the higher level of formalization and slightly lower level of standardization. Although the findings are not unequivocal they show that an organizational structure may become more rigid (in terms of some dimensions) under a high level of network embeddedness what contradicts the hypothesis formulated.