Mafia organizational structure varies with market conditions like any industry

Evidence

Were the question to be raised as to how organized the auto industry is there would be unproblematic agreement that relationships between firms adjust to circumstances. Each company may operate independently in competition with its rivals; some may join forces against others, for instance, European manufacturers versus Japanese firms; still others may try to buy out a rival or arrange a merger. No single definitive answer applies everywhere and at all times. It depends—on the structural features of the market, on contingent conditions, on managerial skills and foresight. The intent of such a question, therefore, lies in identifying the conditions which give rise to different organizational structures. The same ought to apply to the mafia. But increasingly obsessive attempts to come up with a clear-cut answer—is the mafia organized or is it not?—have divided scholars radically and distracted them from a more fruitful analysis. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 251

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels the reader’s Gambetta/Milgrom frame: organizational form as a function of market structure, treating the mafia as an industry rather than a mysterious society.