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SAM ADVANCED MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
Client-Centric Modular Architecture: Empirical Investigation Into The Organizational Design Of A Large Indian IT Service Vendor
Simy Joy and Latha Poonamallee
DOI:
Citation: Joy, S. & Poonamallee, L. (2023). Client-centric modular architecture: Empirical investigation into the organizational design of a large Indian IT service vendor. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 88(3),93-106.
Abstract
Modularity is increasingly being discussed as the most relevant organization design principle for the current organizational landscape. Although an intuitively appealing concept, empirical literature that shows how modular organization designs actually look like in practice is scarce. In this paper, we address this gap. Based on an in-depth case study of an Indian IT services vendor, we provide a blueprint of its modular architecture. The study also surfaces that the underlying design logic as client-centric modularity, and not product/service-centric modularity as the dominant literature would have predicted. The client-centric modular design enables the organization not only to minimize the task interdependence among organizational units, but also to reduce the impact of external environment on the overall organization by restricting client related complexities to single organizational units. Further, we discuss the implications for research and practice.
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