Information uncertainty and organizational design

This paper investigates how information uncertainty, measured through variation in the informativeness of the public information environment, shapes the organizational design choices of firms. I posit that, when faced with higher uncertainty about demand and supply, managers are more likely to establish links to customer/supplier industries through high-level hiring decisions and vertical integration, thereby facilitating access to information about these industries. Consistent with this hypothesis, I find that firms modify their hiring and, to a lesser extent, vertical integration decisions in response to variation in the informativeness of the public information environment about demand and supply, measured with two distinct empirical approaches. Further, I observe that these organizational design choices correlate with the efficiency of inventory management and investment sensitivity to growth opportunities; this finding is consistent with organizational design facilitating access to information otherwise unavailable to managers through public sources.