Last year, the corporate world adopted a new term: flattening. This refers to how tech companies, which rapidly hired droves of middle managers during the pandemic boom, are now eliminating this layer through widespread job cuts.

Recent research by Mustafa Dogan, Alexandre Jacquillat, and Wharton’s Pinar Yildirim, published in the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, also touches on this recent phenomenon. Using theoretical modeling, the study explores how automation affects the structure of decision-making within organizations—specifically, examining the trade-offs between centralization and decentralization. It challenges the conventional wisdom that technology will democratize organizations and empower lower-level managers by decentralizing authority.

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