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Contingency Theory
Contingency Theory
“Contingency theory is a class of behavioral theory claiming that there is no best way to
organize a corporation, lead a company, or make decisions” (Pfeffer, 1997). There is no simple
or one right way to run things. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, two men named Henri Fayrol and
Frederick Taylor continued the study of contingency theory. Research in the 1970’s dealt with
the organizational structures and leadership styles for different situations (Thompson, 2005).
Contingency theory was started by Joan Woodward, whose company research found that
different types of processes were linked to different structures and amounts of control. She said
that certain organizational forms are appropriate for certain forms of work. Woodward was a
pioneer for the theory. Woodward composed several studies using differential variables such as
