Formalization in high-technology ventures

Sammanfattning: This thesis investigates organizational formalization within the context of young Swedish high-technology ventures. The research provides four longitudinal case studies which approach the formalization process in vivo through multiple actor engagement, including a retrospect understanding of the initial development. Formalization has been considered an irrelevant lens for understanding the organization of new ventures and the development of formalized structures. If discussed at all it has been treated as a legitimacy challenge or a consequential problem of growth. A new strand of research gives other indications; it argues that the formalization of structures is among the earliest decisions taken during high-technology venturing. It is also suggested that the earliest decisions direct increased formalization. Emergent knowledge about early formalization, while an important platform, only captures part of the complex formalization process. The results of my research indicate that formalization is an ongoing process that develops in parallel through dual-actors. Management on the one hand, is hesitant and indecisive about how to increase formalization, but uses formalization as an instrument to direct focus among the employees. Employees, on the other hand, pursue formalization through a continuous mapping of core processes. These findings are brought together to reconceptualize formalization from a new venture perspective. The thesis offers a new research framework for future empirical investigation and theory development.