Application of Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety to Interorganizational Conflicts in Nonprofit Organizations

• DOI: 10.1177/0095399720985431
• Date: 01 August 2021
• Published date: 01 August 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399720985431

Administration & Society

2021, Vol. 53(7) 987 –1013

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0095399720985431

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Article

Application of Ashby’s

Law of Requisite Variety

to Interorganizational

Conflicts in Nonprofit

Organizations

Ahmed S. Alojairi1

Abstract

This study examines conflict that can co-determine the effectiveness of

nonprofit organization performance. Based on Ashby’s law of requisite

variety, interorganizational conflict is defined in terms of a lack of fit between

input variety and variety-handling capabilities. The calculated organizational

interaction effectiveness (IE) ratio of 2.04 is used to determine the quality

of interactions. “Flexibility” is the dominant category for helpful incidents

(49.03%). Within non-helpful incidents (45.67%), however, “Unreliability” is

the dominant category. This major source of conflict commonly produces

an imbalance between flexibility and reliability as manifest by a mismatch

between input variety and variety-handling capabilities.

Keywords

interorganizational effectiveness, conflict management, cybernetics

Introduction

People forming an inter-group work together on common goals, and they are

bound to experience to some degree conflicts among interdependent actors

1King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Corresponding Author:

Ahmed S. Alojairi, Department of Information Systems & Operations Management, KFUPM

Business School, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261,

Saudi Arabia.

Email: alojairi@kfupm.edu.sa

985431AAS0010.1177/0095399720985431Administration & SocietyAlojairi

research-article2021

988 Administration & Society 53(7)

(Fowler et al., 2016; Galati et al., 2019; Kumar & van Dissel, 1996). The

aspects of interdependence, the characteristic diversities of organizations,

scarcity of resources, dissimilarities in technology adoption, and power

asymmetry inevitably result in clashes (Assael, 1969; De Dreu & Weingart,

2003). With uncertainty, complexity, and turbulence becoming more frequent

in public, private, and nonprofit sectors, the process of managing interorga-

nizational relationships is increasingly difficult (McBride et al., 2012).

Interorganizational conflicts escalate in proportion to increasing project scale

and complexity (Wu et al., 2017). To address interorganizational conflicts

due to this upsurge in complexity and uncertainty, management requires

sophisticated leadership skills and strategic approaches.

Fundamentally, conflict can be defined as follows: “Forces acting on the

person are opposite in direction and about equal in strength” (Lewin, 1951, p.

260; Lewin, 1935, p. 88). Interorganizational conflicts can be as insignificant

as day-to-day misunderstandings and short-term opportunistic behaviors and

can be as severe as conflicts that threaten the stability of the relationship

(Kumar & van Dissel, 1996). Furthermore, Amason (1996) asserts that con-

flict management is even more complex than conflict resolution. Resolution

is limited to either reduction or elimination, while managing conflict includes

the recognition, interpretation, reinforcement, and/or hindrance of conflict.

Little is known about conflicts that can emerge between interdependent

actors in nonprofit organizations and how such conflicts can be mitigated. In

particular, most general management theories have been developed based on

research in the private and public sectors. Although some research about pri-

vate and public sectors offers comprehensive explanation of management

and strategy in nonprofit organizations, those studies lack broader empirical

research specifically within to the nonprofit sector. Some management litera-

ture generally assumes that most organizations share common characteristics

and thus behave in the same way, so there is little to distinguish between sec-

tors (Lewis et al., 1997). In other words, success for all organizations is mea-

sured by how effectively and efficiently they meet the needs of their clients.

However, this assumption can be challenged by the fact that nonprofit orga-

nizations are motivated by values whereas other organizations (i.e., private

and public) are motivated by either wealth creation or power (Lewis et al.,

1997). These inherent differences present conflict situations in nonprofit

organizations that have different antecedents from those of for-profit organi-

zations (Lewis et al., 1997).

Very few studies have examined the sources of interorganizational conflict

in nonprofit organizations and whether these organizations can produce posi-

tive organizational outcomes in the face of conflict (Fowler et al., 2016). This

could be explained by the fact that managers are more concerned with