<p>The purpose of this research is to show the importance of focusing on spatial structure in organization theory. The spatial structure in this research refers to workplace settings (i.e. work spaces, facilities, workplace environment). Many studies in architecture and environmental psychology have revealed that the design of workplace settings affects the activities of staff using the workspace. In Europe and the United States, empirical research has accumulated in a small number of fields of business management studies (especially organization theory). On the other hand, Japanese researchers have not given sufficient attention to the relationship between workplace settings design and organization member activities in business management studies. However, in recent years, there have been relatively slight changes in such trends. Therefore, in addition to previous research that was mainly conducted in Europe and the United States, this study reviews research of organization theory relating to the design of workplace settings, which has been addressed in our country, and clarifies the current findings. Specifically, this research chose two independent variables, namely the distance between the members of the organization, and the degree of openness of the workplace (i.e. private or shared rooms, presence or absence of partitioning) and focused on the relationship between these variables and organization member activities (especially communication). Based on this work, in conclusion, we present some issues to be addressed in future empirical research.</p>