Evolution as Process: A Metatheoretical Bridge to Organisational Cybernetics

Abstract

This article explores the compatibility of evolutionary processes with organisational cybernetics, focusing on viable systems and living systems. It employs theoretical synthesis and cybernetic modelling to unify various evolutionary theories within a metatheoretical framework. Key findings highlight the relevance of symbiosis, autopoiesis, and natural drift in organisational evolution, emphasizing collaborative relationships and the self-produced, self-maintained nature of systems. Cy-bernetic modelling provides a robust theoretical unification method, and the article proposes a categorisation of nine adaptation dynamics for future analysis of organisational systems. This study shifts the focus towards dynamic evolutionary perspectives within organisational cybernetics, broadening the academic understanding of evolution beyond natural selection. The findings have significant implications for future theoretical and empirical studies, emphasizing mixed methods and process approaches.

Keywords: Integrating Evolutionary Processes with Organisational Cybernetics: Approaching Epistemology through Metatheory Organisational Cybernetics, Viable Systems Model (VSM), Evolutionary Theory, Autopoiesis, Symbiosis, Cybernetic Modelling, organizational cybernetics

JEL Classification: J54, P13, D23