Focusing on firms in a variety of industries (e.g., man-made fibers, engineering, and
electronics), Burns and Stalker illustrated that when change in the environment becomes the
order of the day, as when changing technological and market conditions pose new problems
and challenges, open and flexible styles of organization and management are required.
Exhibit 3.4 captures salient aspects of their study, illustrating patterns of organization and
management in four successful firms experiencing different rates of environmental change.