ABSTRACT
James Thompson’s work is an open systems theory dealing with organization-environment relations and their effects. This work is presented primarily in a single volume (Thompson 1967), although it is amplified by editorial selections prepared by others after Thompson’s death (Rushing and Zald 1976). In many respects the theory thus presented is comparable to the March and Simon (1958) volume Organizations. However, while the latter introduces its propositions based on the empirical research available at the time (see Chapter 22 in this volume), Thompson’s propositions are of a conceptual nature. They were developed to deal with various major areas of concern in the study of organizations; there are fifty-nine numbered and thirty-four subsidiary propositions spread across nine topic areas.
