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

Anselm Schneider, Christopher Wickert, Emilio Marti

Journal of Management Studies · 2017 · Volume 54 · Issue 2

Abstract

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 creatinginternal complexity– for example, by expanding internal structures and processes. However, researchers know less about how organizations createcollaborative complexitycollectively – 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).

Keywords

collaborative complexity, corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental complexity, internal complexity, interorganizational collaboration, social systems theory

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