Works
- Matrix management: contradictions and insights, California Management Review 29(4), 126 to 138, 1987
- Organizing for product development projects, Journal of Product Innovation Management 5(3), 180 to 190, 1988
- Significance of project management structure on development success, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 36(2), 119 to 125, 1989
In Organizational Structures
Known for
The three-way typology of matrix structures for projects, with David Gobeli.
Ideas
Functional, balanced, and project matrix. With Gobeli, Larson surveyed 500 managers experienced in product development on the functional, balanced, and project matrix, which saw comparable use, and found the project matrix judged the most effective. Caveat: Managers' judgments, not objective outcomes.
Matrix against project teams. In 540 development projects, the balanced and project matrix did as well as dedicated project teams on cost, schedule, and technical performance. Caveat: The abstract does not say how performance was rated.