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Showing papers on "Complex adaptive system published in 2012"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify seven generic policy-relevant principles for enhancing the resilience of desired ES in the face of disturbance and ongoing change in social-ecological systems (SES).
Abstract: Enhancing the resilience of ecosystem services (ES) that underpin human well-being is critical for meeting current and future societal needs, and requires specific governance and management policies. Using the literature, we identify seven generic policy-relevant principles for enhancing the resilience of desired ES in the face of disturbance and ongoing change in social-ecological systems (SES). These principles are (P1) maintain diversity and redundancy, (P2) manage connectivity, (P3) manage slow variables and feedbacks, (P4) foster an understanding of SES as complex adaptive systems (CAS), (P5) encourage learning and experimentation, (P6) broaden participation, and (P7) promote polycentric governance systems. We briefly define each principle, review how and when it enhances the resilience of ES, and conclude with major research gaps. In practice, the principles often co-occur and are highly interdependent. Key future needs are to better understand these interdependencies and to operationalize and apply...

872 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is proposed that future efforts to scale up should adapt and apply the models and methodologies which have been used in other fields that study CAS, yet are underused in public health to help policy makers, planners, implementers and researchers to explore different and innovative approaches.
Abstract: Despite increased prominence and funding of global health initiatives, efforts to scale up health services in developing countries are falling short of the expectations of the Millennium Development Goals. Arguing that the dominant assumptions for scaling up are inadequate, we propose that interpreting change in health systems through the lens of complex adaptive systems (CAS) provides better models of pathways for scaling up. Based on an understanding of CAS behaviours, we describe how phenomena such as path dependence, feedback loops, scale-free networks, emergent behaviour and phase transitions can uncover relevant lessons for the design and implementation of health policy and programmes in the context of scaling up health services. The implications include paying more attention to local context, incentives and institutions, as well as anticipating certain types of unintended consequences that can undermine scaling up efforts, and developing and implementing programmes that engage key actors through transparent use of data for ongoing problem-solving and adaptation. We propose that future efforts to scale up should adapt and apply the models and methodologies which have been used in other fields that study CAS, yet are underused in public health. This can help policy makers, planners, implementers and researchers to explore different and innovative approaches for reaching populations in need with effective, equitable and efficient health services. The old assumptions have led to disappointed expectations about how to scale up health services, and offer little insight on how to scale up effective interventions in the future. The alternative perspectives offered by CAS may better reflect the complex and changing nature of health systems, and create new opportunities for understanding and scaling up health services.

407 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a discontinuous three-stage model of industrial symbiosis is presented, which proceeds from a random formative stage involving numerous actors engaging in material and energy exchanges, to conscious recognition and intentional pursuit of network benefits, to institutionalization of beliefs and norms enabling successful collaborative behavior.
Abstract: Summary Industrial symbiosis examines cooperative management of resource flows through networks of businesses known in the literature as industrial ecosystems. These industrial ecosystems have previously been portrayed as having characteristics of complex adaptive systems, but with insufficient attention to the internal and external phenomena describing their genesis. Drawing on biological, ecological, organizational, and systems theory, a discontinuous three-stage model of industrial symbiosis is presented. The model proceeds from a random formative stage involving numerous actors engaging in material and energy exchanges, to conscious recognition and intentional pursuit of network benefits, to institutionalization of beliefs and norms enabling successful collaborative behavior. While there is much variation, with no single path to this outcome, the recognition of benefits is seen as an emergent property characteristic of these self-organized systems that move beyond the initial stage.

390 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Systems thinking is an approach to problem solving that appreciates the very nature of complex systems as dynamic constantly changing governed by history and by feedback.
Abstract: Health systems are complex. Failing to take this complexity into account will continue to hinder efforts to achieve better and more equitable health outcomes. Understanding and working with complexity requires a paradigm shift from linear reductionist approaches to dynamic and holistic approaches that appreciate the multifaceted and interconnected relationships among health system components as well as the views interests and power of its different actors and stakeholders. Systems thinking helps to re-orient our perspectives by expanding our understanding of the characteristics of complex adaptive systems and identifying how this learning may be applied to system problems and the creation of potential solutions. Long used in other disciplines systems thinking holds great yet largely untapped potential for health systems particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Systems thinking is primarily a way of thinking in approaching problems and in designing solutions. It is an approach to problem solving that appreciates the very nature of complex systems as dynamic constantly changing governed by history and by feedback where the role and influence of stakeholders and context is critical and where new policies and actions (of different stakeholders) often generate counterintuitive and unpredictable effects sometimes long after policies have been implemented. (Excerpts)

263 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is found that the SIS research domain has the requisite adaptive capacity to evolve gracefully to address the challenges of the emerging networked competitive landscape.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the current discourse in the Strategic Information Systems (SIS) domain about the future and identity of SIS. We draw on Nelson's theorisation of the co-evolution of Physical and Social Technologies to redefine the SIS domain as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS) for the co-evolution of ICT and organisational capabilities and business models to create social and economic value. We conduct a meta-analysis of the domain based on a longitudinal review of SIS research over 33years, and contrary to contemporaneous SIS literature which suggests that a paradigm shift may be necessary to address the increased turbulence, uncertainty and dynamism in the emerging competitive landscape, we find that the SIS research domain has the requisite adaptive capacity to evolve gracefully to address the challenges of the emerging networked competitive landscape. Drawing on complexity science and network theory we identify four priorities for the development of the domain for the future: conceptualisation of the SIS Domain as a CAS for the co-evolution of Physical and Social Technologies; the adoption of the network paradigm; access to a science of networks; and adoption of Complexity Science as an articulation device within SIS and across disciplines.

249 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, Chen et al. examined complex adaptive systems created through the dynamic interaction of evolving contexts, health systems and institutions within health systems, using a framework that helps unpack complexity, and enables systems thinking when developing solutions to address factors that hinder or enable adoption and diffusion of innovations in health systems.
Abstract: Health systems play a critically important role in improving health. Well-functioning health systems enable achievement of good health with efficient use of available resources. Effective health systems also enable responsiveness to legitimate expectations of citizens and fairness of financing. By helping produce good health effectively, health systems also contribute to economic growth (McKee et al. 2009). Well-functioning health systems are critical in mounting effective responses to emerging public health emergencies, and addressing burden of disease, ill health and poverty due to communicable (Coker et al. 2004) and non-communicable diseases and cancers (Farmer et al. 2010; Samb et al. 2010). A number of factors influence ways in which health systems achieve good health efficiently. These factors include the capacity of both individuals and institutions within health systems, continuity of stewardship, ability to seize opportunities, and contextual characteristics such as path-dependency, sociocultural beliefs, economic set up, and history of the country concerned (Balabanova et al. 2011). However, ‘linking good health and successful health systems, in particular how health systems might be distinguished from other determinants of health, or ultimately how health systems are linked to good health, has proved challenging’ (Chen 2012). A further challenge relates to understanding how innovations (such as new policies, new knowledge and novel technologies) can be effectively introduced in health systems and how these innovations interact with health system variables to influence health outcomes. Resource scarcity, coupled with global economic crisis, has necessitated adoption of innovations in health systems to sustain effective responses and improvements in health outcomes. Yet, weak health systems hinder adoption and diffusion of innovations. Evidence-informed guidance and policies are needed to strengthen health systems and improve their receptiveness to innovations. However, there is limited understanding on how best to develop health system guidance and to translate it to policy while accounting for the complexity of health systems and varied contexts in which health systems are embedded (Lavis et al. 2012). There is also limited understanding of why many well-intentioned policies and managerial decisions aimed at improving health systems do not achieve desired outcomes, but lead to unexpected or unintended consequences. One explanation for this phenomenon is that too often the tools used for analysing health systems and the heuristics used to generate managerial decisions are too simplistic for health systems that are complex. Inadequately considered interventions often upset the equilibrium within complex systems to resist such interventions, leading to ‘policy resistance’. This paper briefly discusses health systems and dynamic complexity. It examines complex adaptive systems created through the dynamic interaction of evolving contexts, health systems and institutions within health systems. The paper explores, through illustrative case studies, how adoption and diffusion of innovations are influenced in complex adaptive systems created through interaction between innovations, institutions, health systems and contexts, using a framework that helps unpack complexity, and enables systems thinking when developing solutions to address factors that hinder or enable adoption and diffusion of innovations in health systems.

218 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that implementing ecosystem-based management has to be "revolutionary" in the sense of going beyond conventional practices, which would require the use of multiple disciplines and multiple objectives, dealing with technically unresolvable management problems of complex adaptive systems and expanding scope from management to governance.
Abstract: As a dominant paradigm, ecosystem-based fisheries have to come to terms with uncertainty and complexity, an interdisciplinary visioning of management objectives, and putting humans back into the ecosystem. The goal of this article is to suggest that implementing ecosystem-based management (EBM) has to be ‘revolutionary’ in the sense of going beyond conventional practices. It would require the use of multiple disciplines and multiple objectives, dealing with technically unresolvable management problems of complex adaptive systems and expanding scope from management to governance. Developing the governance toolbox would require expanding into new kinds of interaction unforeseen by the mid-twentieth-century fathers of fishery science – governance that may involve cooperative, multilevel management, partnerships, social learning and knowledge co-production. In addition to incorporating relatively well-known resilience, adaptive management and co-management approaches, taking EBM to the next stage may include some of the following: conceptualizing EBM as a ‘wicked problem’; conceptualizing fisheries as social-ecological systems; picking and choosing from an assortment of new governance approaches; and finding creative ways to handle complexity.

205 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss entrepreneurship as a complex adaptive system showing how connections and relatedness help explain the power of entrepreneurship to use and adapt to change, and propose a new theoretical platform to examine aspects of entrepreneurship and improve theorising.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider why entrepreneurship theorising has become fragmented and how the research problem might be resolved.Design/methodology/approach – The authors first examine how entrepreneurial constructs reflect only part of what we “mean” by the construct to argue that we use different social constructions. This explains why theories are fragmented. But the authors then ask how we might use and reconcile this diversity, pointing to the utility of the constructs as part of a complex whole. The authors discuss entrepreneurship as a complex adaptive system showing how connections and relatedness help explain the power of entrepreneurship to use and adapt to change.Research implications – The authors' proposition of entrepreneurial endeavours as a complex adaptive system provides a fresh theoretical platform to examine aspects of entrepreneurship and improve theorising.Practical implications – The authors argue that this idea of connecting can also be used at the level of p...

194 citations


Book
13 Jul 2012
TL;DR: Signals and Boundaries develops an overarching framework for comparing and steering cas through the mechanisms that generate their signal/boundary hierarchies, and lays out a path for developing the framework that emphasizes agents, niches, theory, and mathematical models.
Abstract: Complex adaptive systems (cas), including ecosystems, governments, biological cells, and markets, are characterized by intricate hierarchical arrangements of boundaries and signals. In ecosystems, for example, niches act as semi-permeable boundaries, and smells and visual patterns serve as signals; governments have departmental hierarchies with memoranda acting as signals; and so it is with other cas. Despite a wealth of data and descriptions concerning different cas, there remain many unanswered questions about "steering" these systems. In Signals and Boundaries, John Holland argues that understanding the origin of the intricate signal/border hierarchies of these systems is the key to answering such questions. He develops an overarching framework for comparing and steering cas through the mechanisms that generate their signal/boundary hierarchies. Holland lays out a path for developing the framework that emphasizes agents, niches, theory, and mathematical models. He discusses, among other topics, theory construction; signal-processing agents; networks as representations of signal/boundary interaction; adaptation; recombination and reproduction; the use of tagged urn models (adapted from elementary probability theory) to represent boundary hierarchies; finitely generated systems as a way to tie the models examined into a single framework; the framework itself, illustrated by a simple finitely generated version of the development of a multi-celled organism; and Markov processes.

189 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The challenge is to develop multi-disciplinary, multi-scalar methodologies to explore the ways in which informality is linked to squatting, corruption and poverty on the one hand and complex adaptive systems on the other.
Abstract: Informal urbanism, from informal settlements to economies and street markets, is integral to cities of the global South - economically, socially, environmentally and aesthetically. This paper seeks to unfold and re-think this informal/formal conception using two interconnected theoretical frameworks. First is assemblage theory derived from the work of Deleuze and Guattari, in which a series of twofold concepts such as rhizomic/tree and smooth/striated resonate with the informal/formal construct. Second is theory on complex adaptive systems, in which dynamic and unpredictable patterns of self-organisation emerge with certain levels of resilience or vulnerability. These approaches are drawn together into the concept of a complex adaptive assemblage, illustrated with brief snapshots of urban informality drawn from Southeast Asian cities. The challenge is to develop multi-disciplinary, multi-scalar methodologies to explore the ways in which informality is linked to squatting, corruption and poverty on the one...

181 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce the concept of the health care vortex as a metaphor by which to understand the complex adaptive nature of health systems, and the degree to which their behaviour is predetermined by their "shared values" or attractors.
Abstract: Background Everyone wants a sustainable well-functioning health system. However, this notion has different meaning to policy makers and funders compared to clinicians and patients. The former perceive public policy and economic constraints, the latter clinical or patient-centred strategies as the means to achieving a desired outcome. Design Theoretical development and critical analysis of a complex health system model. Results and conclusions We introduce the concept of the health care vortex as a metaphor by which to understand the complex adaptive nature of health systems, and the degree to which their behaviour is predetermined by their ‘shared values’ or attractors. We contrast the likely functions and outcomes of a health system with a people-centred attractor and one with a financial attractor. This analysis suggests a shift in the system's attractor is fundamental to progress health reform thinking.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that integrating care requires policies and management practices that promote system awareness, relationship-building and information-sharing, and that recognize change as an evolving learning process rather than a series of programmatic steps.
Abstract: Introduction: Despite over two decades of international experience and research on health systems integration, integrated care has not developed widely. We hypothesized that part of the problem may lie in how we conceptualize the integration process and the complex systems within which integrated care is enacted. This study aims to contribute to discourse regarding the relevance and utility of a complex-adaptive systems (CAS) perspective on integrated care. Methods: In the Canadian province of Ontario, government mandated the development of fourteen Local Health Integration Networks in 2006. Against the backdrop of these efforts to integrate care, we collected focus group data from a diverse sample of healthcare professionals in the Greater Toronto Area using convenience and snowball sampling. A semi-structured interview guide was used to elicit participant views and experiences of health systems integration. We use a CAS framework to describe and analyze the data, and to assess the theoretical fit of a CAS perspective with the dominant themes in participant responses. Results: Our findings indicate that integration is challenged by system complexity, weak ties and poor alignment among professionals and organizations, a lack of funding incentives to support collaborative work, and a bureaucratic environment based on a command and control approach to management. Using a CAS framework, we identified several characteristics of CAS in our data, including diverse, interdependent and semi-autonomous actors; embedded co-evolutionary systems; emergent behaviours and non-linearity; and self-organizing capacity. Discussion and Conclusion: One possible explanation for the lack of systems change towards integration is that we have failed to treat the healthcare system as complex-adaptive. The data suggest that future integration initiatives must be anchored in a CAS perspective, and focus on building the system's capacity to self-organize. We conclude that integrating care requires policies and management practices that promote system awareness, relationship-building and information-sharing, and that recognize change as an evolving learning process rather than a series of programmatic steps.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on two recent traditions in evaluation methodology, one grounded in complexity theory and the other in a realist philosophy of science, to draw on key concepts from each in the selection and use of substantive theory.
Abstract: This article draws on two recent traditions in evaluation methodology, one grounded in complexity theory and the other in a realist philosophy of science. Sometimes seen as incompatible, it is argued here that complexity theory and realist evaluation are ‘natural bedfellows’. Because of their similarities and differences, evaluators can usefully draw on both perspectives within the same evaluation. One way to do so is to draw on key concepts from each in the selection and use of substantive theory. The article introduces the concept of ‘complexity-consistent’ substantive theories and suggests that this is useful for the evaluation of policies and programs in complex adaptive systems. It demonstrates how substantive theories can be analysed in complexity terms, how multiple theories can be ‘layered’ to reflect multiple levels of systems, and how such theories can be used within evaluation design and analysis.

Book
29 May 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define public policy from a complexity theory perspective, and present a taxonomy of the concepts of Holism and Emergence and Complexity Theory: An Overview, Emergence, Micro-Macro Relations, and Agents and Structures 3.5 Mechanisms of Emergence 3.6 Irreducibility 3.7 Downward Causation 3.8 Structuration 3.
Abstract: Introduction Part I: Concepts 1. Complexity Theory and Public Policy 1.1 Public Policy: Simple or Complex? 1.2 A Definition of Public Policy from a Complexity Theory Perspective 1.3 What is Complexity? 1.4 Complex, Complicated, and Simple 1.5 Complex Systems or Complex Adaptive Systems? 1.6 Chapter Summary 2. Systems and Systemness 2.1 What is a "System"? 2.2 Open and Closed Systems 2.3 Systems and Networks 2.4 System Stability and Dynamics: Structures and Procesees 2.5 Systemness and System Integration 2.6 Who Defines a Systems 2.7 Chapter Summary 3. Emergence 3.1 Emergence, Micro-Macro Relations, and Agents and Structures 3.2 A History of the Concepts of Holism and Emergence 3.3 Emergence and Complexity Theory: An Overview 3.4 Emergence and Macro Structures 3.5 Mechanisms of Emergence 3.6 Irreducibility 3.7 Downward Causation 3.8 Structuration 3.9 Chapter Summary and Implication for Policy 4. Self Organization 4.1 A Brief History of Self-Organizational Thinking 4.2 Issues in Self-Organization 4.3 What is Self? 4.4 Self-Organizations Agents 4.5 Self-Organization in Nature 4.6 Autopoiesis and Self-Referentiality 4.7 Applications of Self Organization in Management, Planning and Policy 4.8 Chapter Summary and Implications for Public Policy 5. System Dynamics 5.1 System Dynamics and Complexity Theory 5.2 Self-Organized Criticality 5.3 Self-Referentiality 5.4 Co-evolution 5.5 System Dynamics and Public Policy 5.6 The Five Propositions Revisited Part II: Epistemology and Methodology 6. Epistemology of Complexity - Uncertainty and Contextuality 6.1 Determinism, Certainty and Predictability 6.2 Uncertainty in the Knowledge of Complex Systems 6.3 Objectivity, Generalizability, and Contextuality 6.4 Chapter Summary and Implication for Public Policy 7. Espistemology - Phenomenology, Hermeneutics and Post-Structuralism 7.1 Phenomenology 7.2 Hermeneutics 7.3 Postmodernism/Post Structuralism 7.4 Complexity Theory: Pluralism, Phenomenology and Post Structuralism 7.5 Chapter Summary and Implications for Public Policy 8. Methods in Complexity Research - Overview and Macro Methods 8.1 Quantitative and Qualitative Methods 8.2 Methods for Complexity Research: A Taxonomy 8.3 Macro Methods of Investigating Structures 8.4 Methods of Detecting Structural Change 8.5 Chapter Summary 9. Methods of Complexity Research - Micro-Macro Methods 9.1 Social Network Analyses 9.2 Agent Based Simulations 9.3 Qualitative Case Studies 9.4 Chapter Summary 10. Methods of Complexity Research - Micro Methods 10.1 The Problem of Artificiality in ABS and Experiments 10.2 Methods of Cognitive Mapping 10.3 Q Methodology 10.4 Concept Mapping 10.5 Repertory Grids 10.6 Chapter Summary 11. Closing Thoughts 11.1 What Kind of Theory is Complexity Theory? 11.2 Policies as Systems 11.3 Emergence: Policies and Outcomes 11.4 Systems Dynamics 11.5 Urban Dynamics and Sprawl: An Illustration of Complexity Thinking 11.6 In Closing

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Analysis of key issues identified in the growing literature on CAS identifies crucial issues, notably: bringing together different providers and the place of the user as a co‐producer of care.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how a complex adaptive systems (CAS) approach can be used to promote the integration of health and social care for the benefit of the user.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a research review and a conceptual analysis of key issues identified in the growing literature on CAS. An application of the CAS approach to the field of integrated care is presented. The paper identifies crucial issues, notably: bringing together different providers and the place of the user as a co‐producer of care.Findings – The benefits of the CAS approach to integrated care are distilled. Above all CAS provides managers of health and social care with an alternative mindset. Guiding principles are offered to these managers to facilitate development towards a more integrated system of health and social care. The possibility to benefit from the user's own resources is increased when organizations are viewed from a CAS perspective. CAS promotes emergent ways of working.Practi...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a review of various conceptions of governance from a monocentric or politicotechnical understanding of governance through to adaptive governance that is based in complex adaptive systems theory is provided.
Abstract: The food system faces increasing pressure from dynamic and interactive, environmental, political and socio-economic stressors. Tackling the complexity that arises from such interactions requires a new form of 'adaptive governance'. This paper provides a review of various conceptions of governance from a monocentric or politicotechnical understanding of governance through to adaptive governance that is based in complex adaptive systems theory. The review is grounded by a critique of the existing institutional structures responsible for food security in South Africa. The current Integrated Food Security Strategy and tasked governmental departments are not sufficiently flexible or coordinated to deal with an issue as multi-scalar and multidisciplinary as food security. However, actions taken in the non-governmental sector signal the emergence of a new type of governance. Apart from an increasing recognition of food security as an issue of concern in the country, there is also evidence of a changing governance structure including collaboration between diverse stakeholders. We review these governance trends with an understanding of the food system as a complex adaptive socio-ecological system where actors in the food system self-organize into more flexible networks that can better adapt to uncertain pressures.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is a need for a greater understanding of the true nature of human–system interactions from the perspective of the theory of complex adaptive systems, including the essence of complexity, emergent properties of system behavior, nonlinear systems dynamics, and deterministic chaos.
Abstract: Objective:In this paper, the author explores a need for a greater understanding of the true nature of human–system interactions from the perspective of the theory of complex adaptive systems, including the essence of complexity, emergent properties of system behavior, nonlinear systems dynamics, and deterministic chaos.Background:Human performance, more often than not, constitutes complex adaptive phenomena with emergent properties that exhibit nonlinear dynamical (chaotic) behaviors.Methods:The complexity challenges in the design and management of contemporary work systems, including service systems, are explored. Examples of selected applications of the concepts of nonlinear dynamics to the study of human physical performance are provided.Results:Understanding and applications of the concepts of theory of complex adaptive and dynamical systems should significantly improve the effectiveness of human-centered design efforts of a large system of systems.Conclusion:Performance of many contemporary work syst...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Some essential elements in formulating, updating and implementing health policy that can help to improve attainment of desired outcomes and minimize negative unintended effects are identified.
Abstract: Implementation of policies (decisions) in the health sector is sometimes defeated by the system’s response to the policy itself. This can lead to counter-intuitive, unanticipated, or more modest effects than expected by those who designed the policy. The health sector fits the characteristics of complex adaptive systems (CAS) and complexity is at the heart of this phenomenon. Anticipating both positive and negative effects of policy decisions, understanding the interests, power and interaction between multiple actors; and planning for the delayed and distal impact of policy decisions are essential for effective decision making in CAS. Failure to appreciate these elements often leads to a series of reductionist approach interventions or ‘fixes’. This in turn can initiate a series of negative feedback loops that further complicates the situation over time. In this paper we use a case study of the Additional Duty Hours Allowance (ADHA) policy in Ghana to illustrate these points. Using causal loop diagrams, we unpack the intended and unintended effects of the policy and how these effects evolved over time. The overall goal is to advance our understanding of decision making in complex adaptive systems; and through this process identify some essential elements in formulating, updating and implementing health policy that can help to improve attainment of desired outcomes and minimize negative unintended effects.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a complexity-based framework for understanding and managing sustainability in complex adaptive systems is presented, taking a qualitative rather than quantitative perspective on complex systems and using several contemporary case examples.
Abstract: Sustainability is a topic of growing importance today in all aspects of organizational life. Businesses and managers are increasingly considering ways to incorporate a balance among economic, ecological, social, and cultural value creation into their business models. At the same time, the world is becoming exponentially more complex. Indeed, complexity theory and thinking are now apparent in academic and practice accounts of sustainability in business, as scholars and practitioners recognize the limitations of traditional reductionist approaches to systemic problems. To date, however, a more theoretical framing of sustainability lags behind accumulating practical evidence. The purpose of this article is to address this gap by developing a complexity-based framework for understanding and managing sustainability in complex adaptive systems. We aim for simplicity, wholeness, and practicality in our approach, taking a qualitative rather than quantitative perspective on complex systems. Using several contemporary case examples, the article describes the important qualities of complex systems and develops them into a working framework that integrates principles and parameters of sustainability. In doing so, we create an approach to sustainability issues and dilemmas called “sustainability thinking.” The article concludes with more generalized sustainability action strategies for managers and recommendations for future researchers.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an argument that organisations are yet to be "fit for purpose" and that the corporate form needs to be re-designed to reach sustainability, and they suggest that organisations need to recognise their agent status amongst a much wider and highly complex array of interconnected, dynamic economic, environmental and social systems.
Abstract: Designed to facilitate economic development, the corporate form now threatens human survival. This article presents an argument that organisations are yet to be ‘fit for purpose’ and that the corporate form needs to be re-designed to reach sustainability. It suggests that organisations need to recognise their agent status amongst a much wider and highly complex array of interconnected, dynamic economic, environmental and social systems. Human Factors theory is drawn on to propose that business systems could be made sustainable through re-design. They could fit their environment more appropriately by improving: Efficiency, Adaptability and Social Cohesion. Leaders of organisations would also need to take a holistic approach to alter the organisation proactively to adapt to the systems within which it is embedded.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper will demonstrate the superior fit and practical advantages of using complex adaptive systems (CAS) and related modeling approaches to develop the scientific basis for WS-CAM and offer an alternative perspective on cause, beyond the simple reductionism of mainstream mechanistic ontology and more parsimonious than the historical vitalism of WS- CAM.
Abstract: Whole systems complementary and alternative medicine (WS-CAM) approaches share a basic worldview that embraces interconnectedness; emergent, non-linear outcomes to treatment that include both local and global changes in the human condition; a contextual view of human beings that are inseparable from and responsive to their environments; and interventions that are complex, synergistic, and interdependent. These fundamental beliefs and principles run counter to the assumptions of reductionism and conventional biomedical research methods that presuppose unidimensional simple causes and thus dismantle and individually test various interventions that comprise only single aspects of the WSCAM system. This paper will demonstrate the superior fit and practical advantages of using complex adaptive systems (CAS) and related modeling approaches to develop the scientific basis for WS-CAM. Furthermore, the details of these CAS models will be used to provide working hypotheses to explain clinical phenomena such as (a) persistence of changes for weeks to months between treatments and/or after cessation of treatment, (b) nonlocal and whole systems changes resulting from therapy, (c) Hering's law, and (d) healing crises. Finally, complex systems science will be used to offer an alternative perspective on cause, beyond the simple reductionism of mainstream mechanistic ontology and more parsimonious than the historical vitalism of WS-CAM. Rather, complex systems science provides a scientifically rigorous, yet essentially holistic ontological perspective with which to conceptualize and empirically explore the development of disease and illness experiences, as well as experiences of healing and wellness.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
09 Dec 2012
TL;DR: This study gives a set of features for supply chains as complex socio-technical systems which are subsequently used to compare three simulation paradigms for supply chain modeling - namely, system dynamics, discrete-even simulation and agent-based simulation.
Abstract: Each simulation paradigm is characterized by a set of core assumptions and some underlying concepts to describe the world. These assumptions, in fact, constrain the development of a conceptual model for the system of study. Consequently, the choice of appropriate simulation paradigm is an important step in the model development process. In this paper, selection of a simulation approach for supply chain modeling is discussed. For this purpose, the supply chain is described from perspective of two well-established system theories. Firstly, supply chains are defined as socio-technical systems. Afterwards, they are described from complex adaptive systems perspective. This study gives a set of features for supply chains as complex socio-technical systems which is subsequently used to compare three simulation paradigms for supply chain modeling -- namely, system dynamics, discrete-even simulation and agent-based simulation.


Posted Content
J. B. Ruhl1
TL;DR: Panarchy theory focuses on improving theories of change in natural and social systems to improve the design of policy responses as mentioned in this paper, which is a new approach to resources management, and yet no new theory of how to do things in environmental and natural resources management is likely to gain traction in practice if it cannot gain traction through specific laws and regulations.
Abstract: Panarchy theory focuses on improving theories of change in natural and social systems to improve the design of policy responses. Its central thesis is that successfully working with the dynamic forces of complex adaptive natural and social systems demands an active adaptive management regime that eschews optimization approaches that seek stability. This is a new approach to resources management, and yet no new theory of how to do things in environmental and natural resources management, particularly one challenging entrenched ways of doing things and the interests aligned around them, is likely to gain traction in practice if it cannot gain traction in the form of endorsement and implementation through specific laws and regulations. At some point, that bridge must be crossed or the enterprise of putting panarchy theory into panarchy practice will stall. Any effort to operationalize panarchy theory through law thus comes up against the mission of law to provide social stability and the nature of law itself as a complex adaptive system. To state the problem in another way, putting panarchy theory into practice will require adaptively managing the complex adaptive legal system to adaptively manage other complex adaptive natural and social systems, all in a way that maintains some level of social order. Panarchy theorists have yet to develop an agenda for doing so. It is time for lawyers to join the team.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors conclude that programs have both deliberate and emergent strategies requiring design and management to be organized as complex adaptive systems.
Abstract: Alignment between formulation and implementation of business strategy can be important for achieving successful programs. The authors have explored the development of a program management alignment theory. Statistical testing showed that interaction between the study model variables was found to be multidimensional, complex, and subtle in influence. Thus, the authors conclude that programs have both deliberate and emergent strategies requiring design and management to be organized as complex adaptive systems. Program life-cycle phases of design and transition were often formed from an unclear and confusing strategic picture at the outset, which can make those phases difficult to control. Learning was established as an underlying challenge. The study model demonstrated continuous alignment as an essential attribute contributing toward successful delivery. This requires program design and structure to adopt an adaptive posture.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the relationship between tourism, energy, and environment, and concluded with recommendations for addressing the challenges associated with such challenges, including building system capacity, technology development and adoption, support of individual behavior change, increasing understa...
Abstract: This article examines the relationship between tourism, energy, and environment. This article approaches tourism as a complex adaptive system composed of consumers, transportation providers, travel intermediaries, and destinations composed of multiple tourism-related companies and other stakeholder groups. Environmental and energy-related challenges of components to the system are examined as well as various units – the system as a whole, enterprises and individuals – within the system. A total of 92 peer-reviewed articles were studied that address ‘energy’ and ‘tourism’ published between 1974 and 2011. Also addressed are the impacts of social and cultural differences between the United States and China concerning responses to environmental and energy-related challenges. This article concludes with recommendations for addressing the challenges associated with such challenges, including building system capacity, technology development and adoption, support of individual behavior change, increasing understa...

Book
30 Oct 2012
TL;DR: The goal of this manuscript is to provide a single hands-on guide to developing cognitive agent-based models for the exploration of emergence across various types of complex systems.
Abstract: Complex Systems are made up of numerous interacting sub-components. Non-linear interactions of these components or agents give rise to emergent behavior observable at the global scale. Agent-based modeling and simulation is a proven paradigm which has previously been used for effective computational modeling of complex systems in various domains. Because of its popular use across different scientific domains, research in agent-based modeling has primarily been vertical in nature. The goal of this manuscript is to provide a single hands-on guide to developing cognitive agent-based models for the exploration of emergence across various types of complex systems. We present practical ideas and examples for researchers and practitioners for the building of agent-based models using a horizontal approach - applications are demonstrated in a number of exciting domains as diverse as wireless sensors networks, peer-to-peer networks, complex social systems, research networks, epidemiological HIV

Journal ArticleDOI
23 Aug 2012
TL;DR: The concept of leadership as a personal capability, not contingent on one's position in a hierarchy, is discussed, which allows us to reframe both the care-giving and organizational roles of nurses and other front-line clinical staff.
Abstract: In this paper we discuss the concept of leadership as a personal capability, not contingent on one's position in a hierarchy. This type of leadership allows us to reframe both the care-giving and organizational roles of nurses and other front-line clinical staff. Little research has been done to explore what leadership means at the point of care, particularly in reference to the relationship between health care practitioners and patients and their family caregivers. The Adaptive Leadership framework, based on complexity science theory, provides a useful lens to explore practitioners' leadership behaviors at the point of care. This framework proposes that there are two broad categories of challenges that patients face: technical and adaptive. Whereas technical challenges are addressed with technical solutions that are delivered by practitioners, adaptive challenges require the patient (or family member) to adjust to a new situation and to do the work of adapting, learning, and behavior change. Adaptive leadership is the work that practitioners do to mobilize and support patients to do the adaptive work. The purpose of this paper is to describe this framework and demonstrate its application to nursing research. We demonstrate the framework's utility with five exemplars of nursing research problems that range from the individual to the system levels. The framework has the potential to guide researchers to ask new questions and to gain new insights into how practitioners interact with patients at the point of care to increase the patient's ability to tackle challenging problems and improve their own health care outcomes. It is a potentially powerful framework for developing and testing a new generation of interventions to address complex issues by harnessing and learning about the adaptive capabilities of patients within their life contexts.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Panarchy theory focuses on improving theories of change in natural and social systems to improve the design of policy responses as mentioned in this paper, which is a new approach to resources management, and yet no new theory of how to do things in environmental and natural resources management is likely to gain traction in practice if it cannot gain traction through specific laws and regulations.
Abstract: Panarchy theory focuses on improving theories of change in natural and social systems to improve the design of policy responses. Its central thesis is that successfully working with the dynamic forces of complex adaptive natural and social systems demands an active adaptive management regime that eschews optimization approaches that seek stability. This is a new approach to resources management, and yet no new theory of how to do things in environmental and natural resources management, particularly one challenging entrenched ways of doing things and the interests aligned around them, is likely to gain traction in practice if it cannot gain traction in the form of endorsement and implementation through specific laws and regulations. At some point, that bridge must be crossed or the enterprise of putting panarchy theory into panarchy practice will stall. Any effort to operationalize panarchy theory through law thus comes up against the mission of law to provide social stability and the nature of law itself as a complex adaptive system. To state the problem in another way, putting panarchy theory into practice will require adaptively managing the complex adaptive legal system to adaptively manage other complex adaptive natural and social systems, all in a way that maintains some level of social order. Panarchy theorists have yet to develop an agenda for doing so. It is time for lawyers to join the team.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The research shows that the conceptual model proposed provides rich data and allows for a more holistic examination of the strategy development process, and is the first conceptual framework which links an established Strategic Operational Research model, the Strategy Development Process model, with complexity via Complex Adaptive Systems theory.
Abstract: The development of strategy remains a debate for academics and a concern for practitioners. Published research has focused on producing models for strategy development and on studying how strategy is developed in organisations. The Operational Research literature has highlighted the importance of considering complexity within strategic decision making; but little has been done to link strategy development with complexity theories, despite organisations and organisational environments becoming increasingly more complex. We review the dominant streams of strategy development and complexity theories. Our theoretical investigation results in the first conceptual framework which links an established Strategic Operational Research model, the Strategy Development Process model, with complexity via Complex Adaptive Systems theory. We present preliminary findings from the use of this conceptual framework applied to a longitudinal, in-depth case study, to demonstrate the advantages of using this integrated conceptual model. Our research shows that the conceptual model proposed provides rich data and allows for a more holistic examination of the strategy development process. © 2012 Operational Research Society Ltd. All rights reserved.