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The purpose of this paper is to show the relevance of the interest in sharing the common purpose and in searching for a common survival of emerging eco-system (ES) as an entity that “is not” but emerges by the viable actors interaction.

This conceptual paper contributes to the research by defining the ES building on the contributions of SD logic and viable systems approach (VSA), with a particular focus on the VSA perspective.

An ES emerges as a viable “system of systems” by an observer’s interpretation of the simultaneous interactions between different viable actors/systems that are sharing a common purpose (the survival of the ES), exchanging resources following a viable value co-creation model. Each actor/system could represent a level of quality of belonging to the ES looking for the opportunity to be resonant with the ES.

The ES features and the role of each actor inside could be deepened through different theoretical perspectives and the same VSA to the ES could be reached with empirical explorations.

Understanding the nature of the ES, the practitioners are able to explain better their position in relation to partners and competitors. It is possible to be a part of several emerging ESs looking for the will to contribute to the ES’ survival and to the sharing of the purpose of the interactive systems/actors. In a medium and long run, the measure of the resonance is useful to understand the quality in interaction.

The work provides a definition of the ES and the actors inside focusing on the perspective of VSA, by integrating the concept of viable value co-creation and solidarity-based logic; in particular, the concept of Centro Commerciale Naturale is used to show the emergence of the ES in a relational context generated by the interaction between city, service and retailers in a city center.

The purpose of this study is to use the power of organization cybernetics (OC) to design a flexible viable academic department that is at the risk of losing its viability because of the complexity of the educational environment.

The proposed framework is developed based on Beer’s OC and the viable system model (VSM). This study adopts the guidelines for applying the VSM described by Stafford Beer and José Pérez Ríos.

The framework presents a comprehensive explanation of the essential functions of a viable academic department. In addition, it determines the basis for an inclusive redesign that can be used to maintain the department’s identity and viability as well.

Although there are many studies applying the framework of the VSM, in an educational context, most of them limited its usage to the evaluation of the viability of academic departments. They did not use the power of OC to design for systemic viability. Accordingly, the application of OC and the VSM, for the sake of designing a viable academic department, can be considered as highly original.

To provide the knowledge structure for an effective knowledge‐based organization which integrates knowledge into organizational goals.

The structure, function, and process of a viable organization were discussed which provided a basis to construct a knowledge management (KM) framework and demonstrate knowledge structure in a knowledge‐based organization. Based on systems view and viable systems model (VSM), a range of recently published KM practices were reviewed to position various knowledge content.

This study proposed a viable systems framework for organizational KM based on the VSM of Beer. Using the viable systems framework, organizational knowledge can be classified into four categories. Knowledge content was articulated based on the systems view. Thus, knowledge structure of various management hierarchies can be captured.

The result contributes to the practice of knowledge executive by supporting the diagnosis and design of an effective knowledge‐based organization. The framework also provides a basis for future empirical studies on the relationships between KM strategies and organizational effectiveness. A specific KM strategy exists that can maximize the effectiveness of each of the four types of knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight how systems thinking contributes to decision making in uncertain contexts that are characteristic of service systems. Based on the assumption that service systems face complex conditions, the paper posits that systems thinking may support the understanding of key issues in service management.

This paper proposes an interpretation of complexity in the context of service systems, which highlights the perspective change that occurs when a systems approach is adopted. The offered conceptual perspective is then brought to an operational level, in spite of the complexity of the decisions driving a viable system, by modelling a service system as a network of agents, resources, processes and decisions through the use of fuzzy logic. The paper reviews service management research streams, and takes a deeper look at the concepts of service systems and complex service systems. The paper then proceeds to discuss how systems thinking contributes to service management by proposing a systems interpretation of complexity.

Service management theories and models may be enhanced by integrating prevailing approaches, based on a quantitative and mechanistic view of service systems dynamics, with systems thinking‐based meta‐models that can be used in better understanding service exchanges. The findings of the paper also show how the integration of an engineering approach can be insightful to the understanding of service systems; adopting a Viable Systems Approach (VSA) as a meta‐model can be useful in fully comprehending market behaviour in uncertain conditions.

The originality of this paper lies in exploring the contribution of systems thinking, in particular of the Viable Systems Approach (VSA), to service management and decision making.

Viable system model (VSM) is a powerful tool mainly used to describe, solve and control systems’ complex problems autonomously. It enables systems to be flexible so that they can survive by rapidly responding and adapting their behaviors to any expected or even unexpected changes in the surrounding environment. This study aims to provide a literature review of the VSM as a conceptual framework for designing viable systems, and its applications in the field of higher education (HE).

The review is based on explaining “What is organizational cybernetics?”, clarifying the principles of the VSM as a rational model for designing viable organizations, discussing its drawbacks and the extended VSM, and then presenting a literature review of VSM applications in HE based on papers mainly published from 1993 to 2017.

Although there are many contributions provided by applying the VSM in HE, the previous developed models used Beer’s framework with its drawbacks without referring to some important factors neglected within it which are discussed in this review.

The study presents a summary of previous research on this topic and clarifies the essential issues needed to be addressed to design viable systems. Based on the gaps identified in the literature, some issues have been emphasized to be addressed in future research.

The purpose of this paper is to show how the viable system model (VSM) and de Sitter's design theory can complement each other in the context of the diagnosis and design of viable organizations.

Key concepts from Beer's model and de Sitter's design theory are introduced and analyzed in order to show how they relate.

The VSM provides insight into the related systems necessary and sufficient for viability. As such, it specifies criteria supporting the diagnosis and design of organizational infrastructures, i.e. of organizational structures, HR systems, and technology. However, it does not explicitly conceptualize and provide a detailed heuristic for the design of organizational structures. De Sitter's theory fills in this gap.

The paper illustrates how, based on a rudimentary model of organizational viability, de Sitter's design theory positively addresses the question of how to diagnose and design organizational structures that add to the viability of organizations.

This paper shares the conclusions of the authors with respect to a comparison of Beer’s viable systems model (VSM) and modern business process thinking. These conclusions have been arrived at as a result of extensive empirical research over the past five years. Modern business process thinking and the VSM provides the foundations for a viable business structure which maximises opportunities for managing agility. The paper provides a brief background to the research and explains VSM and modern business process thinking. It then goes on to demonstrate how VSM and modern business process thinking combine to provide a powerful structure for planning and managing today’s modern organisation in an uncertain and dynamic environment. In developing the theorythe paper also provides empirical evidence to support and demonstrate the application of the theory. The paper concludes with a summary of key messages and lessons learned.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest symbiosis could be a metaphor for finding ways to help countries that are challenged to become economically and socially viable. Beer's viable system model (VSM), which also has biological roots could be applied to look for gaps in the conditions for viability and to seek to fill them through collaborative arrangements.

This is a conceptual paper suggesting various symbiotic processes in biology could inform actions in the social environment.

Concepts from biological and environmental sciences can be applied to social conditions. The viable system model provides a framework for such applications.

This paper presents general ideas and some examples of possibilities for symbiotic collaboration. Opportunities for symbiosis to be applied to the social arena would emerge through exploration of local conditions.

Much could be accomplished at various scales through imaginative collaboration. The natural world provides models and metaphors to stimulate thinking about collaboration.

The author suggests that the phenomenon of symbiosis in the natural world could provide useful concepts to apply to situations where countries and regions that are not viable or viable enough in the global marketplace. The VSM is discussed regarding a framework to integrate opportunities for collaboration.

This paper reviews the underpinning principles and scientific trends of cybernetics and the viable system model (VSM). Therefore, this paper aims to guide authors and managers active in management cybernetics and to inform them about the past, current and future trends in this discipline.

This paper adopts both qualitative and quantitative methods. First, a descriptive and qualitative approach is used to review and analyze management cybernetics historical trends. Then, a frequency analysis (quantitative) is conducted on the 1,000 first publications in the field.

The cybernetics was emerged in the Josiah Macy conference in 1946. Then, Wiener introduced the field of cybernetics and Ashby, Von Foerster and McCulloch developed this concept as a discipline. The Management cybernetics field that was introduced by Beer is a combination of system, control and management sciences. Beer presented VSM as an operational model in this area. Analyzing the 1,000 top-ranked publications shows that the introduction of this field reached maturity and further development became relatively mature. Moreover, based on the analyzed trends, VSM model application can now be strongly attractive. In this paper, the main journals, authors and research trends are analyzed. The main application area of this model is in the IT field and large-scale organizations.

The present paper’s implication for practitioners and researchers is guiding authors and managers to most appropriate studies in the field, so that they can produce and use the most efficient studies in this field.

The fields of IT, Policy-Making, Production, Social Issues, Service industry, Software developers, etc., are some of this paper’s implications for industry and society.

In this paper, the steps of VSM development are investigated. Then, recent trends (classifications, authors, journals and topics analysis) are surveyed by analyzing the top 1,000 publications in this field. This paper would help researchers find more appropriate research fields. In addition, it helps practitioners find the optimum solutions based on management cybernetics for their problems among vast numbers of publications.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of actors that allow them to relate to others actors in the system through shared intentionality (orientation) and the nature of the A4A relationship and the results that such interactions bring to the emergent system based on this shared purpose (finality).

The topic is approached by theoretical analysis and conceptual development of three integrative frameworks: the sociological perspective, service-dominant logic and a particular perspective of system thinking: the viable system approach (vSa).

The A4A relationships involve value co-creation based on actors integrating their resources and acting with intentionality to obtain value by providing benefits to other parties and by belonging to the emergent viable system; actor acts for other actors directly involved in the relationship generating positive effects for the whole system in which it is contextualized.

Future empirical research might better support findings.

Many social implications deriving from an augmented role of actors engaged within social relationships in co-creation exchanges. From the title of the paper A4A over on the manuscript describes numerous social inferences of actors in co-creation.

A4A is a relationship formed by actors that interact for the benefit of the whole system in which are involved. They find own benefit from the benefit created for the system in which they live and act. In A4A relationships the value of the single actor comes from the participation to the viability of the whole system.