Reducing Complexity by Creating Complexity: A Systems Theory Perspective on How Organizations Respond to Their Environments

Organizations have to cope with the complexity of their environment in order to survive. A considerable body of research has shown that organizations may respond to environmental complexity by creating internal complexity – for example, by expanding internal structures and processes. However, resear...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of management studies Vol. 54; no. 2; pp. 182 - 208
Main Authors: Schneider, Anselm, Wickert, Christopher, Marti, Emilio
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2017
Subjects:
Alliances
Collaboration
collaborative complexity
Complex systems
Complexity
Complexity theory
Conceptual models
corporate social responsibility (CSR)
environmental complexity
internal complexity
Internet
interorganizational collaboration
Organization theory
Organizations
Social responsibility
Social systems
Social systems theory
Studies
System theory
Systems theory
Work environment
ISSN:0022-2380, 1467-6486, 1467-6486
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Organizations have to cope with the complexity of their environment in order to survive. A considerable body of research has shown that organizations may respond to environmental complexity by creating internal complexity – for example, by expanding internal structures and processes. However, researchers know less about how organizations create collaborative complexity collectively – for example, by establishing alliances or developing common standards. This paper uses social systems theory to explore how organizations collaborate in response to complexity and to analyse the conditions under which they create either internal or collaborative complexity (or both) to address environmental complexity. It also examines how these types of complexity feed back into environmental complexity. To illustrate our conceptual model, we use corporate social responsibility (CSR).
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ISSN:0022-2380
1467-6486
1467-6486
DOI:10.1111/joms.12206