Steffen Roth

Excelia Business School

This article outlines the basic design of digitally transformed social theory. We show that any digital world is created by the drawing and cross-tabling of binary distinctions. As any theory is supposed to be concerned with truth, we introduce to and insist on the distinction between true and false distinctions. We demonstrate how flexible matrix-...

At the core of ecological economics is the image of the economy as an open system embedded in the natural environment whose carrying capacity is limited. The present paper revisits this image by drawing upon the constructivist implications of Luhmann's social systems theory. To Luhmann, the modern society consists of a multitude of social systems e...

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...

The field of paradox studies keeps struggling to put the notion of paradox into the very centre of organizational life and managerial decision-making, with mixed success. We argue that this research ambition can be realized much more effectively by anchoring the field in three interrelated conceptual approaches which build on paradox as the paradig...

This article examines contemporary efforts to control climate change through the lens of social systems theory, particularly by drawing comparisons to rain dances and shamanic rituals. It argues that modern climate control strategies bear functional similarities to archaic rituals aimed at influencing weather patterns, despite the absence of direct...

Purpose This article explores the concept of state entrepreneurship, particularly focusing on its darker aspects when states act as creative destroyers. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a systems-theoretical approach to develop a comprehensive framework for understanding the nature of statehood and its role in driving disruptive inno...

Purpose This article shows that business family and family business research is dominated by reductionist and biased concepts of culture that are in sharp contrast with recent advances in anthropology and the broader social sciences that would allow for more fine-grained analyses. Design/methodology/approach Through an inbound theorizing approach,...

Scenarios are among the most popular techniques for managing the uncertainty and complexity of the future. Even the more sophisticated scenario designs, however, often reduce the future to a narrow set of typically only two key factors that are arranged into a four‐square matrix representing four distinct yet interrelated scenarios. Consequently, s...

Purpose: This article shows that business family and family business research is dominated by reductionist and biased concepts of culture that are in sharp contrast with recent advances in anthropology and the broader social sciences that would allow for more fine-grained analyses. Design/methodology/approach: Through an inbound theorizing-approach...

This paper examines how organization theorists within social systems theory in the tradition of Niklas Luhmann view hierarchical steering and seek to adapt Luhmann's ideas to the complexities of contemporary organizations. We contribute to this debate by linking it to leadership and followership literature, introducing the paradox of ‘willing unwil...

This perspective article highlights the significance of systems-theoretical approaches within family business research. Extant systems-theoretical literature in the field of family business research is reviewed to outline potential research gaps and avenues. The article highlights the fundamental differences between organisational decision communic...

The concept of Earth as a planetary spaceship serves as a root metaphor of ecological economics, sustainability science, and the broader environmental movement. This article first explores the origins of this metaphor and elucidates the core components and functions of a hypothetical Spaceship Earth. It then draws on Erving Goffman’s characteristic...

The purpose of this article is to resolve the apparent opposition between the container metaphor of organisation and the communicative constitution of organisations perspective. I draw on works by Niklas Luhmann, George Spencer Brown, and Louis Kaufman to develop a dynamic, communicative concept of containment or “continence”. Based on this concept...

Purpose This perspective article provides an overview of current research on paradoxes within family business settings and outlines emerging trends and potential avenues for future research in this field. Design/methodology/approach This article is inspired by a systems-theoretical approach to business family paradoxes. Findings The article sugge...

In this article, we introduce the reader to a social systems-theoretical concept of science, with particular emphasis on the role of theorising within a functionally differentiated society. Six cases are presented that demonstrate how social systems theory serves as both theory and method, thereby offering an insightful super-theoretical framework...

Modern stakeholder theory is premised on the ‘integration thesis’, according to which business and ethics constitute an inseparable unity. For many management scholars, this thesis raised the difficult question of how far business can pursue ethical goals without losing its functional autonomy. We address this question by interpreting the integrati...

Popular perception holds that science has been distorted by the pressure of expectations of economic utility or political desirability. Grounded in Niklas Luhmann's system theory, this paper examines the interplay of the political, economic and scientific subsystem of society to scrutinise the idea that science has been corrupted by economy and pol...

In this article, we explore the paradoxical relationship between simulation and dissimulation. We draw on nine contributions to an eponymous virtual special issue of Futures to emphasise that overreliance on simulations or their confusion with research methods is associated with the risk of abetting academic or political dissimulation or immunizati...

Stakeholder scholars have long explored how stakeholder relationships differ from economic transactions. We contribute to this ongoing inquiry by developing a conceptual framework of relationality in stakeholder theory that encompasses a stakeholder-theoretic extension of Williamson's contracting schema and a new typology of stakeholder relationshi...

In this article, we develop a strategic foresight techniques selection model. To this end, we build on the classical FAROUT assessment of business and competitive analysis (BCA) techniques, which we extend and redesign to allow for context-and purpose-specific selections of BCA techniques that combine robust future orientation with one or all other...

The concept of Earth as a planetary spaceship serves as a root metaphor of ecological economics, sustainability science, and the broader environmental movement. This article first explores the origins of this metaphor and elucidates the core components and functions of a hypothetical Spaceship Earth. It then draws on Erving Goffman's characteristic...

The concept of Earth as a planetary spaceship serves as a root metaphor of ecological economics, sustainability science, and the broader environmental movement. This article first explores the origins of this metaphor and elucidates the core components and functions of a hypothetical Spaceship Earth. It then draws on Erving Goffman's characteristic...

This conceptual paper explores the surprising impact exerted by third elements on the escalation and de-escalation of conflicts in business families. To this end, we draw on core concepts of Batesonian cybernetic theory to perform a reconceptualisation of pertinent literature on changing conflict dynamics gathered in family business research and co...

Purpose This perspective article provides an overview of current research on paradoxes within family business settings and outlines emerging trends and potential avenues for future research in this field. Design/methodology/approach This article is inspired by a systems-theoretical approach to business family paradoxes. Findings The article suggest...

This article is a reply to Foss et al.’s (2022) contribution to the special issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Management on The Great Reset of management and organization theory. In their article, the authors make a strong case that “reset thinking” geared towards a more “sustainable” redesign of the global economy promotes extensive state inter...

This article discusses symmetry as an analytical tool for sociological analysis. Sym- metry is presented as a property of social formations and a way to generate informa- tion about them through their mutual comparisons. The concept thus displaces the old dichotomy between individual and society. The latter forces to think in terms of wholes and pa...

This study investigates how sharing ventures address the paradox of doing good versus doing harm in their strategic decision-making. The doing good versus doing harm paradox refers to the difficulty of sharing ventures to balance the aim to benefit society and the environment while minimizing potential adverse effects. Understanding and addressing...

Business family members face challenges related to exposure to diverse role expectations and systems logics, the management of which often results in situations of high complexity, dilemmas, and paradoxes. To address these issues, in this paper we combine key insights from social systems theory with systemic family coaching tools such as "internal...

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 pertinence of ma...

We look for strong, compelling theoretical and actionable contributions to enhance our understanding from the perspective of creativity and innovation management. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: • Acceleration, innovation, and creativity. Technological and social opportunities and challenges, • Artificial disrupters and automated...

This introduces the reader to the Great Reset of management and organization theory. Concepts are discussed and six cases are presented, provoking thought, debate, and dialogue for or against a Great Reset of management and organization theory. We conclude that management and organisation theorists might rather study than advocate or co-perform res...

On the occasion of a growing popularity of paradox theory in management and organisation research, this article provides an introduction to the paradox of true distinctions, reports on its relevance to theory building, and presents a strategy to contain the paradox without resolving it. To this end, I draw on works by George Spencer Brown and Nikla...

In Niklas Luhmann’s vision of the modern functionally differentiated society, health presents one of the essential function systems, along with politics, law, economy and science. While he devoted much effort to elaborating the theoretical foundations of the latter function systems, his work on the health system was relatively sparse. This research...

As neoliberalism is sinking into disrepute, states are responding to current crises by inroads on basic rights. This constellation adds urgency to the timeworn subject of statehood and its relationship to law and liberty. The paper addresses this subject by enhancing the neoliberal concept of an encased economy with James Coleman's concept of law a...

This article provides data-driven analyses of Lithuanian foreign trade activities. We combine Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) and Lauraéus-Kaivo-oja Index (LKI) measures to identify key changes and trends in export and import structures of the Lithuanian economy. The findings suggest that the export and import portfolios of the Lithuanian economy...

Funktionssystem engl. function system oder functional system, franz. système fonctionnel m. → Funktionssysteme sind soziale → Systeme, die sich selbst erhalten und ausdifferenzieren (→ Autopoiesis), indem sie die Anschlussfähigkeit von → Kommunikation in einem bestimmten Erfolgsmedium wie → Macht, → Geld oder Wahrheit sicherstellen oder erhöhen. Da...

Chester Barnard’s work can be shown to contain subversive elements which accord with the spirit of institutionalist scholarship. Barnard saw corporations as systems of power whose sustainability must be backed by moral resources which are becoming increasingly scarce today. This vision suggests that the core role of corporations may be found to be...

This article draws on the groundwork by George Spencer Brown and Niklas Luhmann to outline a general framework for the digital transformation of management and organization theory. It is shown under which conditions guiding distinctions of these fields may be defined as false or true. The framework is applied to selected examples, thus demonstratin...

This article is concerned with the impact of corporate digitalization on the corporate sustainability performance and with barriers and supportive institutional frameworks for corporate digital technology adaptation. Collected from big data sets such as the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) country reports and the Global Innovation Index (GI...

Purpose The present article pertains to recent advances in social systems theoretical analyses of moral communication. Design/methodology/approach An introduction to basic concepts and requirements for systems-theoretical approaches to morality and communication is provided, as is an introduction to 14 contributions to a pertinent special issue of...

Offener Brief an die Mitglieder des Deutschen Bundestages vom 6. Januar 2022

What’s trending? Google Trends tracks search trends every day, through- out the day. Social media, smartphone notifications, and unwanted pop-ups keep us abreast of current trends even when we have no inter- est in what is trending on a particular day or in a particular hour. But we might not realize, or might forget, that those surface trends ofte...

Vor dem Hintergrund der Corona-Krise skizziert dieser Artikel ein Staatsmodel, dass sich eher als Rahmen- denn als Gegenkonzept zum Notstandsstaat versteht. Darauf aufbauend lässt sich zeigen, wie dieses Modell Konstruktionsfehler auch neoliberaler Staatsvorstellungen aufzeigen und derart weiterentwickeln kann, dass ein multifunktionaler Liberalism...

Purpose This article is devoted to conditions and examples of how theories may be applied as methods in the fields of management research and organization studies. Design/methodology/approach An introduction to minimum requirements for a successful refunctionalization of theory as method as well as to nine contributions to a special issue of the J...

Purpose The literature on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), cultural differences between organizations have frequently been identified as one of the main challenges in the process of post-merger integration (PMI). Existing research has explored a broad variety of cultural differences in perceptions, such as those relating to expectations, norms, valu...

Text-to-speech version of "The great reset of management and organization theory. A European perspective", available here at researchgate.net.

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 Staatl...

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...

George Spencer Brown, a polymath and author of Laws of Form, brought together mathematics, electronics, engineering and philosophy to form an unlikely bond. This book investigates Design with NOR, the title of the yet unpublished 1961 typescript by Spencer Brown. The typescript formed through the author's experiences as technical engineer and devel...

In his 1926 life-size poster “Der Mensch als Industriepalast” (Man as Industrial Palace), physician and infographics pioneer Fritz Kahn draws on the state of the art, science, and technology of the second industrial revolution to depict core processes of the human organism as if it were a factory: tubes filled with chemicals, a metabolic division o...

Purpose This study aims to present a solution-focused approach to current problems and criticisms faced by business schools. Design/methodology/approach To facilitate the required shift from problems to solutions, this study outlines a theory method and demonstrates how it has informed my teaching at Financial Times (FT)-ranked business schools an...

Chester Barnard's organisation theory is widely acknowledged to be grounded on a systems-theoretic approach which has however remained largely inchoate. The present paper ventures a hypothetical reconstruction of this approach by identifying the salient parallels between Barnard's thought and Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems as well as Alf...

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...

From the outset of the coronavirus crisis, Sweden has been heavyily criticized for its exceptional pandemic mitigation policy. Sweden is often accused pursuing an abnormal and ‘disastrous strategy' that puts its citizens' lives at risk. In this article, we analyze the most widespread criticisms of Swedish ‘exceptionalism’, in order to identify and...

Die Coronavirus-Pandemie hat die Welt auf eine Weise verändert, die zuvor unvorstellbar erschien. Die Debatte über die Folgen für Individuen und Gesellschaften ist in vollem Gange. Dieses Buch betrachtet die Ereignisse aus der Perspektive der Systemtheorie. Heiko Kleve, Steffen Roth und Fritz B. Simon zeigen auf, wie der Disput um Covid-19 Wirtscha...

In this article, we draw on established views of CSR dysfunctionalities to show how and why CSR is regularly observed to be both shaped by and supportive of capitalism. We proceed to show that these dysfunctionalities are maintained by both the pro- and anticapitalist approaches to CSR, both of which imply an ill-defined separation of the economy a...

Drawing on Luhmannian social systems theory, this article revisits the single- versus multiple-objective debate on the theory of the firm. Firms are conceptualized as complexity reducing systems structurally coupled with potentially risky environments, and profit maximization is considered as a complexity reduction strategy for making sense of thes...

Purpose: Social distancing. Travel bans. Confinement. The purpose of this paper is to document that more than 50% of the world population is affected by World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for the 2020 coronavirus crisis. The WHO admits that the evidence quality for the effectiveness of these recommendations is low or very low. Design/m...

Case fatality rates (CFR) have been critical in the emergence and management of the current COVID-19 crisis. This article presents a comparative map of CFR for the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza (H1N1 and H2N2). The mapped data shows that current CFR of SARS-CoV-2 are considerably lower than, or similar to those, of hospitalized patients in...

Purpose This conceptual article aims to contribute to the design of a theory of family-influenced firms by a framework for the management of business-family dilemmas. Design/methodology/approach It combines systemic principles with the tetralemma, a tool from ancient Indian logic that families and businesses can use to manage and reframe dilemmas...

This paper explores the potential of big data, such as those compiled by the Google Books project, to inform the dominant theories of the firm that tend to be grounded on strong assumptions about the capitalist nature of the modern society. Combining the novel methodologies of the digital age with Niklas Luhmann's theory of functional differentiati...

This research note is a rejoinder to Steve Wallis' commentary on my article "The open theory and its enemy. Implicit moralisation as epistemological obstacle for general systems theory" (Roth, 2019)

Resilience and stress management are considered key factors for entrepreneurial success. In this research we propose that controlled, creative confrontation with adversity can help overcome stressful experience by fostering resilience. Our research is based on a neuronal network model that considers resilience in its relation to creativity. This mo...

What’s trending? Google Trends tracks search trends every day, throughout the day. Social media, smartphone notifications, and unwanted pop-ups keep us abreast of current trends even when we have no interest in what’s trending on a particular day or in a particular hour. But we might not realize, or might forget, that those surface trends often hav...

Purpose This paper aims to probe the limits of the empirical-normative divide as a conceptual framework in business ethics. Design/methodology/approach A systems theory perspective debunks this divide as a false distinction that cannot do justice to the conceptual complexity of the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) scholarship. Findi...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how much value national governments worldwide place on political, economic, scientific, artistic, religious, legal, sportive, health-related, educational and mass media-related issues. This knowledge is critical as governments and policies are typically expected to be congruent with the importance th...

Seeking to advance a big data approach to social theory, Roth et al. (2017) applied the Google Ngram Viewer toexplore the way the evolution of the function systems of the modern society is reflected in the Google Bookscorpus. The authors produced a highly counterintuitivefinding that the modern Western societies cannot beadequately described as cap...

ICT and the increasing availability of digital data are dramatically changing the processes of research and knowledge production in the social sciences and humanities (SSH). Whereas the methodological momentum in digital humanities and computational social sciences is already immense, theory development in the SSH is much less dynamic and consists...

Purpose: This paper aims to extend the existing views of coopetition into the broader context of open coopetition. Design/methodology/approach: The authors build on the literature about open innovation cooperation between competitors in the open-source software industry, which we generalize to show that open coopetition between competitors and thir...

We explore the cross-fertilization potential between stakeholder theory and Niklas Luhmann's social systems theory. Social systems, such as corporations or nonprofits, are defined by complexity reduction and operational closure, which may render them insensitive to their environment and undermine their sustainability. This vision resonates with sta...

In observing a capitalist lifestyle of addiction to relentless growth responsible for an imminent self-extinction of the human race, environmentalism is a particularly problem-centred movement. The purpose of this article is to address and manage the risk that the movement is co-dependent on and co-performs the problems it tries to solve. To this e...

(Accepted for publication in Technological Forecasting and Social Change) This article outlines the basic design of digitally transformed social theory. We show that any digital world is created by the drawing and cross-tabling of binary distinctions. As any theory is supposed to be concerned with truth, we introduce to and insist on the distinctio...

Purpose: Are entrepreneurial opportunities discovered or created? The debate around this question has crucial implications for successful organizational change management in the business world. The present conceptual paper transcends this debate by embedding the concept of the entrepreneurial opportunities within a Luhmannian systems – theoretical...

The remarkable feature of the nonprofit sector is its astonishing diversity. This feature gets short shrift in the traditional market or governmental failure theories of the nonprofit sector. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann's concept of functional differentiation, we demonstrate that these theories are implicitly economy-and politics-biased. In seeking t...

Abstract: This article makes a case for the significance that barriers have for new venture discovery. Since markets are social phenomena, new venture discoveries necessarily refer to the crossing of social borders. We draw on social systems theory and theories of social differentiation to understand how social borders are drawn. We demonstrate how...

Аннотация: Изучение социальных трансформаций и исследования будущего зависят от релевантности нашего знания о современности и прошлом. Целью нашего исследования является изучение эволюции ключевых концептов социальной дифференциации, отраженных в книгопечатной коммуникации в среде русского языка. Основной задачей является тестирование гипотез о пра...

Изучение социальных трансформаций и исследования будущего зависят от релевантности нашего знания о современности и прошлом. Целью нашего исследования является изучение эволюции ключевых концептов социальной дифференциации, отраженных в книгопечатной коммуникации в среде русского языка. Основной задачей является тестирование гипотез о правдоподобнос...

Highlights • Foresights and futures studies depend on the adequacy of our knowledge of the present and the past. • Big data evidence suggests that the English language area was not capitalist between 1800 and 2000. • Popular social macro trend statements ought to be regularly scrutinised so as to reduce the risk that inadequate trend assumptions ar...

"Abstract: Since 3D printing technology has been available as early as in the early 19th century, the present article start from the question why this radical and probably disruptive technology has been observed as only incremental innovation for so long time. In answering this question, we assume that this incrementalization of the supposed key to...

While the majority of market interventions is concerned with market interventions that are good for particular market participants, this article is interested in interventions that are good for markets. We draw on observations of historical markets as presented by Hamilton Grierson and Max Weber to rediscover markets as forms of communication that...

This article presents futures oriented analyses of 3D printing, which are based on technology foresight study performed in Finland in 2013. The methodological framework of the Finnish technology foresight study is shortly introduced and explained in this article. The analysis reflects current discussion about 3D printing technology options in Finla...

Since 3D printing technology has been available as early as in the early 19th century, the present article start from the question why this radical and probably disruptive technology has been observed as only incremental innovation for so long a time. In answering this question, we assume that this incrementalisation of the supposed key to the next...

A sharp problem focus sharpens the problem. Sustainably ongrowing bodies of text on degrowth are not the key to post-growth scenarios because evocations of the limits of growth reinforce rather than transcend the economic principle, which is in the observation of scarcity. We therefore focus on alternative forms of growth rather than alternatives t...

Purpose Cross tables are omnipresent in management, academia, and popular culture. The Matrix has us, despite all criticism, opposition, and desire for a way out. In this essay, we draw on the works of three agents of the matrix. We show that Niklas Luhmann criticised Talcott Parsons’ traditional matrix model of society and proceeded to update sys...

If the global brain is a suitable model of the future information society, then one future of research in this global brain will be in its past, which is its distributed memory. In this paper, we draw on Francis Heylighen, Marta Lenartowicz, and Niklas Luhmann to show that future research in this global brain will have to reclaim classical theories...

In this article, we draw on theories of social differentiation to show that functional differentiation is not about the division of work and organization, but rather about a multiplication of horizons for decision-making. We argue that a systematic management of functional differentiation makes organizations smarter and more flexible. We corroborat...

In this reintroduction to the concept of functional differentiation, we present historical evidence that the perceived proliferation of moral communication in management and organisation research and practice is at odds with the principles of management and organisation. We show that there is neither direct need nor direct way to derive decision pr...

In this article we discuss the futures of work and robotics. We evaluate key future trends in the field of robotics and analyse different scenarios regarding the futures of human beings and work life. Subsequently, we present a roadmap of robotics, which covers key aspects of industrial and service robotics, discuss technology foresight insights an...

In this article we discuss the futures of work and robotics. We evaluate key future trends in the field of robotics and analyse different scenarios regarding the futures of human beings and work life. Subsequently, we present a roadmap of robotics, which covers key aspects of industrial and service robotics, discuss technology foresight insights an...

This article is the prototype of a virus that recodes economy biased decision programs of capitalist organisations. To bypass the notorious firewalls of capitalism we developed a program that works as anti-capitalist malware program without being one. This is achieved by changing the programming language from moral code to functional differentiatio...

This article tests whether the field of foresight and futures studies shows significant variable selection biases in the modelling of the future in general and the impact of function systems in particular. We performed a word frequency analysis to measure the relative importance of the political system, the economy, science, art, religion, law, spo...

Using the updated Google Book corpus dataset generated in July 2012, we analyze the largest available corpus of digitalized books to review social macro trends such as the secularization, politicization, economization, and mediatization of society. These familiar trend statements are tested through a comparative analysis of word frequency time-seri...

The label 'expatriate' is increasingly used by, and applied to, an increasing number of persons who do not fit classical concepts of company-driven expatriation. While relevant research is engaged in establishing interaction with smaller samples of self-initiated expatriates, the present article represents netnography of a larger, international sam...