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1 – 10 of over 8000The purpose of this research is to systematically review the properties of supply chains demonstrating that they are complex systems, and that the management of supply chains is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to systematically review the properties of supply chains demonstrating that they are complex systems, and that the management of supply chains is best achieved by steering rather than controlling these systems toward desired outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The research study was designed as both exploratory and explanatory. Data were collected from secondary sources using a comprehensive literature review process. In parallel with data collection, data were analyzed and synthesized.
Findings
The main finding is the introduction of an inductive framework for steering supply chains from a complex systems perspective by explaining why supply chains have properties of complex systems and how to deal with their complexity while steering them toward desired outcomes. Complexity properties are summarized in four inter-dependent categories: Structural, Dynamic, Behavioral and Decision making, which together enable the assessment of supply chains as complex systems. Furthermore, five mechanisms emerged for dealing with the complexity of supply chains: classification, modeling, measurement, relational analysis and handling.
Originality/value
Recognizing that supply chains are complex systems allows for a better grasp of the effect of positive feedback on change and transformation, and also interactions leading to dynamic equilibria, nonlinearity and the role of inter-organizational learning, as well as emerging capabilities, and existing trade-offs and paradoxical tensions in decision-making. It recognizes changing dynamics and the co-evolution of supply chain phenomena in different scales and contexts.
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Alastair Orr, Jason Donovan and Dietmar Stoian
Smallholder value chains are dynamic, changing over time in sudden, unpredictable ways as they adapt to shocks. Understanding these dynamics and adaptation is essential for these…
Abstract
Purpose
Smallholder value chains are dynamic, changing over time in sudden, unpredictable ways as they adapt to shocks. Understanding these dynamics and adaptation is essential for these chains to remain competitive in turbulent markets. Many guides to value chain development, though they focus welcome attention on snapshots of current structure and performance, pay limited attention to the dynamic forces affecting these chains or to adaptation. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper develops an expanded conceptual framework to understand value chain performance based on the theory of complex adaptive systems. The framework combines seven common properties of complex systems: time, uncertainty, sensitivity to initial conditions, endogenous shocks, sudden change, interacting agents and adaptation.
Findings
The authors outline how the framework can be used to ask new research questions and analyze case studies in order to improve our understanding of the development of smallholder value chains and their capacity for adaptation.
Research limitations/implications
The framework highlights the need for greater attention to value chain dynamics.
Originality/value
The framework offers a new perspective on the dynamics of smallholder value chains.
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Jude Stansfield, Nick Cavill, Louise Marshall, Claire Robson and Harry Rutter
This paper aims to use systems mapping as a tool to develop an organisation-wide approach to public mental health to inform strategic direction within a national public health…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to use systems mapping as a tool to develop an organisation-wide approach to public mental health to inform strategic direction within a national public health agency.
Design/methodology/approach
Two workshops were facilitated with internal staff from a wide range of public health policy teams working in small groups to produce paper-based maps. These were collated and refined by the project team and digitised.
Findings
The approach engaged a range of teams in forming a shared understanding and producing a complex system map of the influences on population mental health and well-being, where current policy initiatives were addressing them and what the gaps and priorities were. Participants valued the approach which led to further study and organisational commitment to the whole system working as part of national public mental health strategy.
Research limitations/implications
The approach was limited to internal stakeholders and wider engagement with other sectors and community members would help further the application of complex system approaches to public mental health.
Originality/value
It was a valuable process for developing a whole-organisation approach and stimulating thinking and practice in complex system approaches. The paper provides a practical example of how to apply systems mapping and its benefits for organising public mental health practice.
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Albert Postma and Ian Seymour Yeoman
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of systems thinking and its value for strategic foresight and scenario planning to address disruptive forces from…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of systems thinking and its value for strategic foresight and scenario planning to address disruptive forces from the outside, with the outbreak of COVID19 as a case study.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper concisely discusses the notion of systems thinking and the concept of complex adaptive systems and puts this in the context of contemporary society in general and travel and tourism in particular. Strategic foresight and scenario planning are introduced as an approach to anticipate disruptions in the complex adaptive travel and tourism system.
Findings
As COVID-19 has demonstrated, travel and tourism is sensitive for disruptions from the outside. To ensure long-term resilience and sustainability, a systems approach embedded in strategic foresight and scenario planning is emphasised.
Practical implications
Strategic foresight and scenario planning is a competence that can be learned.
Originality/value
Given the present status of COVID-19 and other disruptors on travel and tourism, a resilient approach to the future is necessary; thus, the value of this viewpoint paper is the proposition of an adaptive capacity system. This paper offers advice to understand and manage complexity and adaptive systems.
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Ibrahim Yitmen, Amjad Al-Musaed and Fikri Yücelgazi
Decisions taken during the early design of adaptive façades involving kinetic, active and responsive envelope for complex commercial buildings have a substantial effect on…
Abstract
Purpose
Decisions taken during the early design of adaptive façades involving kinetic, active and responsive envelope for complex commercial buildings have a substantial effect on inclusive building functioning and the comfort level of inhabitants. This study aims to present the application of an analytic network process (ANP) model indicating the order of priority for high performance criteria that must be taken into account in the assessment of the performance of adaptive façade systems for complex commercial buildings.
Design/methodology/approach
The nominal group technique (NGT) stimulating and refining group judgments are used to find and categorize relevant high performance attributes of the adaptive façade systems and their relative pair-wise significance scores. An ANP model is applied to prioritize these high performance objectives and criteria for the adaptive façade systems.
Findings
Embodied energy and CO2 emission, sustainability, energy saving, daylight and operation maintenance were as the most likely and crucial high performance criteria. The criteria and the weights presented in this study could be used as guidelines for evaluating the performance of adaptive façade systems for commercial buildings in planning and design phases.
Practical implications
This research primarily provides the required actions and evaluations for design managers in accomplishing a high performance adaptive façade system, with the support of an ANP method. Before beginning the adaptive façade system of a building design process, the design manager must determine the significance of each of these attributes as high performance primacies will affect the results all through the entire design process.
Originality/value
In this research, a relatively innovative, systematic and practical approach is proposed to sustain the decision-making procedure for evaluation of the high performance criteria of adaptive façade systems in complex commercial buildings.
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Daryl Watkins, Matthew Earnhardt, Linda Pittenger, Robin Roberts, Kees Rietsema and Janet Cosman-Ross
Technological advances, globalization, network complexity, and social complexity complicate almost every aspect of our organizations and environments. Leadership educators are…
Abstract
Technological advances, globalization, network complexity, and social complexity complicate almost every aspect of our organizations and environments. Leadership educators are challenged with developing leaders who can sense environmental cues, adapt to rapidly changing contexts, and thrive in uncertainty while adhering to their values systems. In a complex leadership context, inadequate leader responses can result in devastating organizational impacts akin to the butterfly effect from chaos theory. This paper advances a simple model for leadership education based on a program we designed to develop leaders who understand the nature of complex systems, reliably use their ethical value systems, are emotionally intelligent and resilient, and can adapt to emergent situations.
Anthony C. Andenoro, Matthew J. Sowcik and Teresa C. Balser
Complex and adaptive challenges threaten human well-being and sustainability. However, our leadership graduates often lack the capacity and or commitment to address these…
Abstract
Complex and adaptive challenges threaten human well-being and sustainability. However, our leadership graduates often lack the capacity and or commitment to address these challenges in a meaningful way. This paper details a five-year study exploring the impact of an interdisciplinary undergraduate course on the development of global capacities, complex Adaptive Leadership, Socially Responsible Agency, and systems thinking. The course instructors used innovative and intentionally divergent learning methods to challenge students to serve as stewards of their own knowledge and facilitators of their own learning through the confrontation of authentic and complex challenges. The researchers note transferable qualitative findings that demonstrate the profound impact of the noted leadership learning experience on the development of Socially Responsible Agency, along with Adaptive Leadership capacity and systems thinking.
Huiru Zhang, Limin Jia, Li Wang and Yong Qin
Based on complex network theory, a method for critical elements identification of China Railway High-speed 2 (CRH2) train system is introduced in this paper.
Abstract
Purpose
Based on complex network theory, a method for critical elements identification of China Railway High-speed 2 (CRH2) train system is introduced in this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
First, two methods, reliability theory and complex theory, are introduced, and the advantages and disadvantages for their application in identifying critical elements of high-speed train system are summarized. Second, a multi-layer multi-granularity network model including virtual and actual nodes is proposed, and the corresponding fusion rules for the same nodes in different layers are given.
Findings
Finally, taking CRH2 train system as an example, the critical elements are identified by using complex network theory, which provides a reference for train operation and maintenance.
Originality/value
A method of identifying key elements of CRH2 train system based on integrated importance indices is introduced, which is a meaningful extension of the application of complex network theory to identify key components.
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This paper considers supply chain management organizations with the aid of 'chaotic systems theory' developed originally in physics and mathematics. Since innovations in supply…
Abstract
This paper considers supply chain management organizations with the aid of 'chaotic systems theory' developed originally in physics and mathematics. Since innovations in supply chain management are vital for organizational survival 'complex systems theory' may assist in fine-tuning managerial philosophies that provide stability in supply chain management because it is on the boundary of chaos that the greatest innovational creativity occurs. Neither 'management by rigid objectives' (MBO) nor 'management by instruction' (MBI) will be suitable for the information society of the twenty-first century because chaotic social systems will no longer be effectively managed. However, the capacity for self-organization will be derived essentially from how supply chain management members accept a shared set of values or principles for action-'management by values' (MBV). Complex systems theory deals with systems that show complex structures in time or space, often hiding simple deterministic rules. This theory holds that once these rules are found, it is possible to make effective predictions and even to control the apparent complexity. The state of chaos that self-organizes is attributable to the appearance of the 'strange attractor' and provides the ideal basis for creativity and innovation in the twenty-first century. In the self-organized state of chaos, social members are not confined to narrow roles and gradually develop their capacity for differentiation and relationships, growing progressively towards their maximum potential contribution to the efficiency of the organization. In this meaning, values act as organizers of 'attractors' of disorder, which, in the theory of chaos, are systems represented by usually regular geometric configurations that predict the long-term behavior of complex systems. In supply chain management organizations (as in all kinds of social systems) the initial principles end up as the final principles in the long term. An attractor is a model representation of the behavioral results of the system. The attractor is not a force of attraction or a goal-oriented presence in the system; it simply depicts where the system is heading based on its rules of motion. In supply chain management organizations that cultivate or shares values of autonomy, responsibility, independence, innovation, creativity, and proactivity, the risk of short-term chaos is mitigated by external complexities that organizations are currently confronting. The strategy is to alter the supply chain management's surroundings so that they can benefit from management by values (MBV).
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Christophe Schinckus and Cinla Akdere
How a micro-founded discipline such as economics could deal with the increasing global economic reality? This question has been asked frequently since the last economic crisis…
Abstract
Purpose
How a micro-founded discipline such as economics could deal with the increasing global economic reality? This question has been asked frequently since the last economic crisis that appeared in 2008. In this challenging context, some commentators have turned their attention to a new area of knowledge coming from physics: econophysics which mainly focuses on a macro-analysis of economic systems. By showing that concepts used by econophysicists are consistent with an existing economic knowledge (developed by J.S. Mill), the purpose of this paper is to claim that an interdisciplinary perspective is possible between these two communities.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a historical and conceptual analysis of the key concept of emergence to emphasize the potential bridge between econophysics and economics.
Findings
Six methodological arguments will be developed in order to show the existence of conceptual bridges as a necessary condition for the elaboration of a common language between economists and econophysics which would not be superfluous, in this challenging context, to clarify the growing complexity of economic phenomena.
Originality/value
Although the economics and econophysics study same the complex economic phenomena, very few collaborations exist between them. This paper paves a conceptual/methodological path for more collaboration between the two fields.
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