Release | Multifunctional tetralemma. A systems-theoretical programme and its practical implications

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 […]

Release | Multifunctional organisation. A systems-theoretical concept and its practical implications

Abstract: Purpose: This Theory Transfer and Impact Article addresses a paradox in how organisations are observed and theorised: while governments are assumed to be political, schools educational, and firms economic, these same organisations often act across multiple functional domains—accumulating capital, performing research, or exercising power. The article proposes the concept of the multifunctional organisation to […]

Release | Value Plurality and Multifunctional Commensuration in Organisation: A Systems-Theoretical Approach

Abstract: This article aims to challenge the prevailing economic bias in studies of organised valuation and commensuration by exploring the broader plurality of values that organisations must manage. The article draws on social systems theory in the tradition of German sociologist Niklas Luhmann to conceptualise organisations as multifunctional systems of decisions that pertain to and […]

CFP | EURAM 2025 in Florence | T11_04 Exploring Organizational Purposes: Multifunctional Approaches to Resilience, Leadership, and Management Practice

We invite you to submit your research to our track at the 25th European Academy of Management Anniversary Conference (EURAM 2025) in Florence, Italy! Date: 22-25 June 2025 Venue: University of Florence Track: T11_04 Exploring Organizational Purposes: Multifunctional Approaches to Resilience, Leadership, and Management Practice Proponents: Short description: We invite paper submissions focusing on the […]

Release | Fit for functional differentiation: new directions for personnel management and organizational change bridging the fit theory and social systems theory

Abstract: This conceptual paper seeks to bridge two existing theories in a bid to broaden our analytical scope when studying the process of onboarding, retention and exclusion of organizational members. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue. The authors draw on the social systems theory to advance the fit theory demonstrating the […]

Release | The great reset of management and organization theory. A European perspective

Abstract: In mid-2020, the World Economic Forum (WEF) announced the Great Reset, an initiative launched to assert, describe, and shape the direction of an epochal transition brought about by the global coronavirus crisis. Rooted in a European tradition of social theory, this article aims to articulate the broader social context of this scenario and pinpoint […]

Veröffentlichung | Der Staat des multifunktionalen Liberalismus. Zu den Entscheidungsprämissen der nächsten politischen Ökologie

Zusammenfassung: Die Coronakrise schafft Momentum für notstandsstaatliche Massnahmen und Gruppenmoral. Man begründet Sonderrechte und überträgt das aktuelle Krisenmanagement gedanklich auf den Kampf gegen den Klimawandel. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser «neuen Normalität» skizziert der vorliegende Beitrag ein Staatsverständnis, das sich mehr als Rahmenkonzept von Staatlichkeit denn als Gegenmodell zum totalitären Notstandsstaat versteht. Dabei zeigt sich, dass dieser […]

Release | The Great Reset. Restratification for Lives, Livelihoods, and the Planet

Abstract: In reviewing the Great Reset, an initiative launched by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in response to the global coronavirus crisis, this perspective article considers the scenario of an epochal transition from capitalism to “restorism”. To facilitate the observation of underlying trends and assumptions, a systems-theoretical framework is developed for the observation of both […]

CFP | The Great Reset of management and organization theory

Call for papers to a special issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Management [SSCI 1.891, Scopus, CNRS**, CABS**, VHB***] on The Great Reset of management and organization theory Proponents Steffen Roth, Full Professor of Management, La Rochelle Business School, France, and Adjunct Professor of Economic Sociology, University of Turku, Finland [corresponding proponent]. Wojciech Czakon, Full Professor of Strategic […]