Contrary to former analysis' which were based on binary factors of features - such as presence vs. absence - the group expanded the spectrum to continuous dimensions and achieved a more differentiated view of their research subject.
Amongst others, John Child, David Hickson, Bob Hinings, Roy Payne, Diana Pheysey, and Charles McMillan published under the Aston-label.
These topic were, according to Greenwood and Devine:[6] Malcolm Warner maintains "There is a potentially brilliant empirical theory of organizations to be written by the Aston gurus".
Based on measurable dimensions - the amount of written instructions - and a structural analysis of the power-concentration, the bureaucracy-level of an organization can easily be determined.
In an expansion and building upon the works of Max Weber, who only recognized one bureaucracy, the Aston group found a taxonomy of different types with distinguishable features and characteristics based on only three factors: concentration of authority, structuring and attention to rules.