Finding Your Complexity Sweet Spot
Abstract
Thriving in today’s volatile economy requires constant innovation. But as businesses add products, channels, markets, and customer segments, they become more complex. Despite the common belief that too much complexity is bad, MIT CISR has found that it is a company’s combination of product and process complexity that determines whether value is destroyed or created. Top-performing companies find the right balance between the two—their “complexity sweet spot”—with high product complexity and low process complexity, resulting in profits that are higher than the industry average.
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About the Authors
Martin Mocker, Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)
Peter Weill, Chairman & Senior Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)
Stephanie L. Woerner, Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)
MIT CENTER FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH (CISR)
Founded in 1974 and grounded in MIT's tradition of combining academic knowledge and practical purpose, MIT CISR helps executives meet the challenge of leading increasingly digital and data-driven organizations. We work directly with digital leaders, executives, and boards to develop our insights. Our consortium forms a global community that comprises more than seventy-five organizations.
MIT CISR Associate Members
MIT CISR wishes to thank all of our associate members for their support and contributions.