Inside Organizations and Out. Methodological Tenets for Empirical Research Inspired by Systems Theory
Keywords:
organizational research, systems theory, functional method, semantic analysis, management research
Abstract
This paper focuses on how organizational research inspired by Niklas LUHMANN's systems theory can be epistemologically framed and methodologically designed. Central methodological pillars such as structural and semantic analyses, observing contingencies, explaining trivialities, functional analysis and exploring coupling mechanisms are discussed. Drawing from several empirical studies, we demonstrate that systems theory is a highly efficacious framework for the study of modern organizations, as it permits an uncommon observational perspective that is able to question what is often taken for granted. Finally, we highlight how management can profit from systems theoretical research on organizations. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1003165Downloads
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Published
2010-09-30
How to Cite
Besio, C., & Pronzini, A. (2010). Inside Organizations and Out. Methodological Tenets for Empirical Research Inspired by Systems Theory. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-11.3.1539
Section
Thematic Issue
Copyright (c) 2010 Cristina Besio, Andrea Pronzini

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.