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Unpacking Digital Network Coordination: Beyond Hierarchy and Market in the Age of Algorithmic Organizing
Digital networks have fundamentally altered how coordination occurs across organizational boundaries. Yet, existing theories remain anchored in hierarchical and market-based logics that assume authority or price as primary coordinating mechanisms. This conceptual paper develops a theoretical explanation of coordination in digital networks, moving beyond traditional organizing forms to articulate a distinct logic based on architecture, algorithms, and data flows. We identify the limits of hierarchy and market in digitally mediated environments, particularly where interdependence is high, actors are distributed, and real-time adaptation is required. Building on recent advances in platform ecosystems, digital infrastructures, and algorithmic coordination, we theorize digital network coordination as a distinct organizational logic characterized by platform-mediated interactions, modular interfaces, algorithmic governance, and real-time feedback. We propose a conceptual framework that specifies four core coordination mechanisms—platform-based orchestration, interface modularity, algorithmic adjustment, and data-driven synchronization—and explains how they substitute for and complement traditional mechanisms. Our analysis challenges assumptions about firm boundaries and authority-based control, suggesting that coordination increasingly shifts from centralized decision-making to distributed, architecture-enabled adaptation. We offer implications for organizational theory and outline boundary conditions under which digital network coordination is most effective.
Journal of Digital Business and Management Studies
Original Research | Open access | 18 September 2023 | Article: 28
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