Works
- Evolution and revolution as organizations grow, Harvard Business Review, July to August 1972; reprinted in Family Business Review 10(4), 397 to 409, 1997, 1972
In Organizational Structures
Known for
Evolution and revolution as organizations grow
Ideas
Phases of growth separated by crises. Organizations grow through phases of evolution, each ending in a revolutionary crisis that a new structure and practice must resolve; the founder-led first phase ends in a crisis of leadership. Caveat: A conceptual model drawn from case histories, with no systematic test; the fifth phase's crisis is only a question mark in the text. Later research finds ventures follow divergent paths rather than one sequence (DeSantola, Gulati, and Zhelyazkov 2023).
Phases of growth. Greiner described growth through phases of creativity, direction, delegation, coordination, and collaboration, each ending in a crisis. Caveat: A conceptual model, not tested in the article.