Sustainability, complexity and learning: Insights from complex systems approaches

Learning Organization

Volumn 18, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 54-72

  Espinosa, A ^a   Porter, T ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HULL   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MAINE   (United States)

Author keywords

Learning organizations; Organzational change; Sustainable development

Indexed keywords

EID: 78651061784     PISSN: 09696474     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/09696471111096000     Document Type: Article

References (89)

1. Anderson, P. (1999), "Complexity theory and organization science" in Organization Science, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 216-32.
2. Arcaute, E., Christensen, K., Dahl, T., Espinosa, A. and Sendova, A. (2009), "Division of labour in ant colonies in terms of attractive fields" in Ecological Complexity, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 396-402.
3. Argyris, C. (1982), Reasoning, Learning, and Action, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
4. Ashby, W.R. (1962), "Principles of the self-organizing system" in Von Foerster, H. and Zopf, G.W. Jr (Eds.), Principles of Self-Organization, Transactions of the University of Illinois Symposium, Pergamon Press, London, pp. 255-78.
5. Axelrod, R. (1997), The Complexity of Cooperation, Agent Based Models of Competition and Cooperation, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
6. Bar-Yam, Y. (2000), "Complexity rising, from human beings to human civilization: a complexity profile", available at: http://necsi.org/Civilization.html (accessed July 1, 2010).
7. Bateson, G. (1973), Steps to an Ecology of Mind, Paladin, St Albans.
8. Baum, J. and Singh, J. (1994), "Organization-environment coevolution" in Baum, J. and Singh, J. (Eds.), Evolutionary Dynamics of Organizations, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp. 379-402.
9. Bawden, R. (2006), "Pedagogies for persistence: cognitive challenges and collective competency development" in International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, Vol. 2, Nos 3-4, pp. 299-314.
10. Beer, S. (1979), Heart of the Enterprise, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
11. Beer, S. (1981), Brain of the Firm, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
12. Beer, S. (1985), Diagnosing the System for Organisations, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
13. Beer, S. (1994), Beyond Dispute: The Invention of Team Syntegrity, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
14. Beer, S. and Casti, J. (1975), Investment against Disaster in Large Organizations, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Research Memoranda, RM-75-T6, pp. 1-25.
15. Beinhocker, E. (2007), The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What it Means for Business and Society, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.
16. Browning, L.D., Beyer, J.M. and Shetler, J.C. (1995), "Building cooperation in a competitive industry" in The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 113-51.
17. Cameron, K. and Quinn, R. (1999), Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture, Addison-Wesley, New York, NY.
18. Capra, F. (1996), The Web of Life - A New Synthesis of Mind and Matter, HarperCollins, London.
19. Capra, F. (2003), The Hidden Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living, HarperCollins, London.
20. Capra, F. (2007), "Complexity and life" in Systems Research and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 24, pp. 475-9.
21. Cardoso, P.P. (2010), "Facilitating self-organization in non-hierarchical communities: a methodology for regeneration programs" in Clarkson, G. (Ed.), Business and Organizational Survival and Sustainability, Leeds University Press, Leeds, pp. 101-24.
22. Clippinger, J. (1999), "Order from the bottom up: complex adaptive systems and their management" in Clippinger, J. (Ed.), The Biology of Business: Decoding the Natural Laws of Enterprise, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp. 1-30.
23. Dutton, J. and Ashford, S. (1993), "Selling issues to top management" in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 397-428.
24. Eisenhardt, K. (1989), "Building theories from case study research" in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 14, pp. 532-50.
25. Elkington, J. (1998), Cannibals with Forks, Conscientious Commerce/New Society, Gabiola Island.
26. Espejo, R. (1989), "A cybernetic method to study organisations" Espejo, R. and Harnden, R (Eds.), The Viable System Model: Interpretations and Applications of Stafford Beer's VSM, Wiley, Chichester.
27. Espejo, R., Schuhmann, W., Schwaninger, M. and Billelo, U. (1996), Organisational Transformation and Learning, John Wiley & Sons, London.
28. Espinosa, A. and Walker, J. (n.d.), Complexity and Sustainability: Theory and Practice, Book Series on Complexity, Imperial College Press, London.
29. Espinosa, A., Harnden, R. and Walker, J. (2007), "Beyond hierarchy: Stafford Beer revisited", Kybernetes, special issue, Vol. 36 Nos 3/4, pp. 333-47.
30. Espinosa, A., Harnden, R. and Walker, J. (2008), "A complexity approach to sustainability: Stafford Beer revisited" in European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 187, pp. 636-51.
31. Floyd, S. and Wooldridge, B. (1997), "Middle managers' strategic influence and organizational performance" in Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 34, pp. 465-85.
32. Floyd, S. and Wooldridge, B. (2000), Building Strategy from the Middle: Reconceptualizing Strategy Process, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
33. French, S. (2009), "Re-thinking the foundations of the strategic business process" in Journal of Management Development, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 51-76.
34. Gasparatos, A., El-Haram, M. and Horner, M. (2009), "The argument against a reductionist approach for measuring sustainable development performance and the need for methodological pluralism" in Accounting Forum, Vol. 33, pp. 245-56.
35. Goldstein, J., Hazy, J. and Silberstang, J. (2008), "Complexity and social entrepreneurship: a fortuitous meeting" in Emergence, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 9-24.
36. Halme, M. (1996), "Shifting environmental management paradigms in two Finnish paper facilities: a broader view of institutional theory" in Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 5, pp. 94-105.
37. Hardin, G. (1968), "The tragedy of the commons" in Science, Vol. 162, No. 3859, pp. 1243-8.
38. Hawkin, P. (2007), Blessed Unrest, Penguin, New York, NY.
39. Holling, C. (2001), "Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems" in Ecosystems, Vol. 4, pp. 390-405.
40. Ison, R.L. (2009), How to Act in a Climate Change World: Systems Practice, Systemic Inquiry and Action Research, Springer, London.
41. Ison, R.L., Blackmore, C.P., Collins, K.B. and Furniss, P. (2007), "Systemic environmental decision making: designing learning systems" in Kybernetes, Vol. 36, Nos 9/10, pp. 1340-61.
42. Kauffman, S. (1993), The Origins of Order: Self-organization and Selection in Evolution, Oxford University Press, New York, NY.
43. Knowles, K. (2010), "A holisitic framework for environmental change to enhance organisational sustainability" in Clarkson, G. (Ed.), Business and Organizational Survival and Sustainability, Leeds University Press, Leeds, pp. 31-51.
44. Knowles, K. and Espinosa, A. (2009), "Towards a holistic framework for environmental change: the role of normative behaviour and informal networking to enhance sustainable business practice" in Systemic Practice and Action Research, Vol. 22, pp. 275-91.
45. Langton, C. (1992), Artificial Life, Addison-Wesley, New York, NY.
46. Laszlo, E. (2006), The Chaos Point: The World at the Crossroads, Piatkus Books Ltd, London.
47. Lichtenstein, B. (2000), "Self-organized transitions: a pattern amid the chaos of transformative change" in Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 128-41.
48. Longair, M. (Ed.) (1997), The Large, the Small, and the Human Mind, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
49. Lovelock, J. (1979), Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
50. McCulloch, W. (1965), Embodiments of Mind, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
51. McKelvey, B. (1997), "Quasi-natural organization science" in Organization Science, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 352-80.
52. Maturana, H. and Varela, F. (1980), Autopoiesis and Cognition: The Realisation of the Living, Reider, Dordrecht.
53. Meadows, D., Randers, J. and Meadows, D. (2004), The Limits to Growth: The 30 Year Update, Chelsea Green Publishing, London.
54. Meadows, D.H., Meadows, D.L., Randers, J. and Behrens, W. (1972), Limits to Growth - A Report for the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind, Earth Island Limited, London.
55. Midgley, G. and Reynolds, M. (2004), "Systems/operational research and sustainable development: towards a new agenda" in Sustainable Development, Vol. 12, pp. 56-64.
56. Mingers, J. (1997), "Multi-paradigm multimethodology" Mingers, J. and Gill, A. (Eds.), Multimethodology, Wiley, New York, NY.
57. Molnar, E. and Mulville, P. (2003), "Sustainability-focused organizational learning: recent experiences and new challenges" in Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 167-79.
58. Nishiguchi, T. (2001), "Co-evolution of inter-organizational relations" in Nonaka, I. and Nishiguchi, T. (Eds.), Knowledge Emergence, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 197-222.
59. Palombo, S. (1999), The Emergent Ego: Complexity and Coevolution in the Psychoanalytic Process, International Universities Press, Madison, WI.
60. Pask, G. (1961), An Approach to Cybernetics, Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, NY.
61. Paucar, A. and Espinosa, A. (2010), "Management science methodologies in environmental management and sustainability: discourses and applications", Journal of the Operational Research Society.
62. Plowman, D., Baker, L., Beck, T., Kulkarni, M., Solansky, S. and Travis, D. (2007), "Radical change accidentally: the emergence and amplification of small change" in Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 515-43.
63. Porter, T. (2006a), "Coevolution as a research framework for organizations and the natural environment" in Organization and Environment, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 479-504.
64. Porter, T. (2006b), "Inside greening: the role of middle managers' strategic processes, attitudes, and behaviors in corporate environmentalism", unpublished dissertation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA.
65. Powers, W. (1973), Behavior: The Control of Perception, Aldine, Chicago, IL.
66. Regner, P. (2001), "Complexity and multiple rationalities in strategy processes" in Volberda, H. and Elfring, T. (Eds.), Rethinking Strategy, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 43-56.
67. Richardson, K. (2008), "Managing complex organizations: complexity thinking and the science and art of management" in Emergence, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 13-26.
68. Rihani, S. (2002), Complex Systems Theory and Development Practice, Zed Books, New York, NY.
69. Sawyer, R. (2005), Social Emergence: Societies as Complex Systems, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
70. Schumpeter, J. (1942), Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Harper, New York, NY.
71. Scott, W.R. (1987), Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
72. Senge, P.M. (1990), The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Doubleday, New York, NY.
73. Stark, D. (2000), "Sociology of worth", keynote address, Proceedings of the Meetings of the European Association of Evolutionary Political Economy, Berlin, November 2-4.
74. Stead, W.E. and Stead, J. (2004), Sustainable Strategic Management, M.E. Sharpe, London.
75. Von Foerster, H. (1981), Observing Systems, Intersystems, Salinas, CA.
76. von Hayek, F. (1972), Die Theorie komplexer Phänomene (The Theory of Complex Phenomena), Walter Eucken-Institut, Vorträge und Aufsätze (Lectures and Articles), Vol. 36, Tübingen.
77. Watts, M. (2009), "Collaborative implementation network structures: cultural tourism implementation in an English seaside context" in Systemic Practice and Action Research, Vol. 22, pp. 293-311.
78. Watts, M. (2010), "A systemic approach to collaborative implementation network structures: implementation of cultural tourism products in an English seaside context", PhD dissertation, Hull University Business School, Hull.
79. WCED (1987), Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, UN Documents (internet), available at: www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm (accessed 27 February 2010).
80. Werback, A. (2009), "When sustainability means more than 'green'" in McKinsey Quarterly, Vol. 4, pp. 74-9.
81. White, L. and Lee, G. (2009), "Operational research and sustainable development: tackling the social dimension" in European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 193, No. 3, pp. 683-92.
82. Wulun, J. (2007), "Understanding complexity, challenging traditional ways of thinking" in Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Vol. 24, pp. 393-402.
83. Yin, R. (2002), Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 3rd ed., Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
84. Zhu, Z. (1998), "Conscious mind, forgetting mind: two approaches in multi-methodology" in Systemic Practice and Action Research, Vol. 11, pp. 669-90.
85. Fisher, D., Rooke, D. and Torbert, W. (2001), Personal Organizational Transformations through Action Inquiry, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
86. Gunderson, L. and Holling, C. (Eds.) (2001), Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems, Island Press, Washington, DC.
87. Mintzberg, H. (1990), "Strategy formation: schools of thought" Fredrickson, J. (Ed.), Perspectives on Strategic Management, Harper and Row, New York, NY.
88. Porter, T. (2009), "A complexity perspective on strategic process research", in Pietro, M. and Kellermanns, F. (Eds), Handbook of Strategy Process Research (forthcoming).
89. Vesterby, V. (2008), "Measuring complexity: things that go wrong and how to get it right" in Emergence: Complexity and Organization, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 90-102.