On 23 April 2026, we will convene for the first-ever Wolfson Tool Factory meeting—an experimental workshop dedicated to the co-production of theory-based management and consulting tools. This event is supported by the Wolfson College Research Networks. The idea is simple but ambitious: To bring together social (systems) theorists and consultants working with for-profit, non-profit, and […]
Read more "Event | Wolfson Tool Factory"The Next Society Institute Limited (in foundation) conducts and supports research on the structures and semantics of modern societies, with a particular focus on social systems theory and its contemporary extensions. Its formal establishment will be marked by an inaugural meeting held at Clare College, University of Cambridge, on Thursday, 05 March 2026.
Read more "Event | Inaugural Meeting of the Next Society Institute Limited"Call for Papers Luhmann Conference 2026 Theme: Meaning. Observed with … Venue: Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik, Croatia Conference dates: 14–18 September 2026Pre-conference dinner: 14 September 2026 Submission Deadline: 15 May 2026 Conference Theme Coded as the distinction between actual and potential, meaning (Sinn) occupies a central position in Niklas Luhmann’s theory programme. As the shared medium in which both psychic and […]
Read more "CFP | Luhmann Conference 2026"Abstract: This article examines the ideological repurposing of institutions of higher management education (IHMEs) from a systems-theoretical perspective. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems, we analyse both historical and contemporary cases to identify structural similarities in how institutions of higher education (IHEs) have been reoriented to serve external political imperatives. Through a functional […]
Read more "Release | Ideological Repurposing of Institutions of Higher Management Education: Historical Lessons and Contemporary Imperatives"Abstract: ESG frameworks have become a central tool for aligning corporate strategies with sustainability imperatives. Yet, by reducing environmental, social, and governance dimensions to standardised metrics, conventional ESG framework risk obscuring the complex ethical commitments that arise from incommensurable societal subsystems. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory, this paper critiques ESG’s tendency to privilege […]
Read more "Release | Reimagining ESG: A Tetralemma Approach to Multifunctional Sustainability Reporting"I am very pleased to announce that, following a 2024 initiative by the Luhmann Conference Community, Systems Research and Behavioral Science and Kybernetes have been included in the FNEGE Classement des revues scientifiques en sciences de gestion et management 2025, the most influential academic business and management journal ranking in the francophone world.
Read more "Announcement | Kybernetes and SRBS included in the FNEGE journal ranking"Abstract: This general review introduces the concept of the multifunctional tetralemma as a systems-theoretical decision programme. It addresses how organisations can navigate dilemmas in functionally differentiated societies, where the same issue may appear simultaneously as good, bad, both, or neither depending on the function system through which it is observed. This paper situates the tetralemma within […]
Read more "Release | Multifunctional tetralemma. A systems-theoretical programme and its practical implications"According to the official assessment conducted by the Research Council of Lithuania for the evaluation period 2024, Kazimieras Simonavičius University (KSU) achieved exceptional results in the field of social sciences, including: Moreover, two KSU publications were officially recognised as TOP Publications of 2024: In my capacity as Founding Director of the Next Society Institute (NSI), […]
Read more "Announcement | KSU Attains Leading National Results in the 2024 Lithuanian Research Council Evaluation"Call for Special Issue Proposals The editorial team at Kybernetes invites proposals for special issues from scholars and practitioners interested in topics related to cybernetics, systems thinking, and management science. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: If you would like to propose a special issue, please contact Paul Kidd pkidd@emerald.com to request a proposal form. The […]
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