The research focus of ICOA is on developing insights into the mechanisms and best practices of organizational architecture. By understanding the dynamics of organizational architecture, we will be able to design better organizational structures, improve change processes, and advance the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations as well as their long-term performance.

ICOA has enabled novel insights to organizational design theory by taking a holistic approach to organization design, integrating both the micro and the macro view of organizations.

ICOA’s research interests evolve around three distinct but interconnected areas:

• Structures (the design or layout of organizations)
• Behavior and collaboration (of individuals and groups within and between organizations)
• Incentives and regulation (how incentives and regulation shape the organizations in a particular setting)

By integrating these three areas, ICOA achieves an integration of a micro view, e.g. behavior, collaboration and incentives, with a macro-view, e.g. structures and regulation, into a holistic understanding of organizational architecture.

Methodology wise, we span from simulation and laboratory studies to field and case studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods, selected based on the problem addressed.