The 2018 National Defense Strategy directs the DoD to organize for innovation in order to maintain a competitive advantage in today's strategic environment. Utilizing organization design theory and historical case studies, this monograph develops a hypothesis that identifies a structural design allowing large, competitive organizations to adopt disruptive technological innovation and the factors that enable the design's success. Through these lenses, the monograph will then evaluate the suitability of AFWERX as a response to the DoD's mandate. Ultimately, the author concludes that because the DoD leverages an ambidextrous design enabled by insulation from bureaucratic processes, senior-level support, clear vision, and a deliberate technology transfer strategy, the creation of AFWERX is an apt organizational adaptation to a changing strategic landscape.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)