Theories and studies of corruption typically focus on individual ethics and agency problems in or... more Theories and studies of corruption typically focus on individual ethics and agency problems in organizations. In this paper, we use concepts from complexity science to propose a process theory that describes how corruption risk emerges from conditions of uncertainty that are intrinsic in social systems and social interactions. We posit that our theory is valid across multiple levels of scale in social systems. We theorize that corruption involves dynamics that emerge when agents in a system take actions that exploit disequilibrium conditions of uncertainty and ethical ambiguity. Further, systemic corruption emerges when agent interactions are amplified locally in ways that create a hidden value sink which we define as a structure that extracts, or 'drains,' resources from the system for the exclusive use of certain agents. For those participating in corruption, the presence of a value sink reduces local uncertainties about access to resources. This dynamic can attract others to join the value sink, allowing it to persist and grow as a dynamical system attractor, eventually challenging broader norms. We close by identifying four distinct types of corruption risk and suggest policy interventions to manage them. Finally, we discuss ways in which our theoretical approach could motivate future research.
Organizations are complex adaptive systems comprised of heterogeneous agentsinteracting in unplan... more Organizations are complex adaptive systems comprised of heterogeneous agentsinteracting in unplanned ways. According to complexity theory, emergent events occur atvarious levels within a system, and within organizations. The focus in this paper is at the microlevelof analysis. We describe leadership emergence within groups and describe how innovativeaction and communication results from this emergence. In particular, we specify how leadershipemerges at the individual, dyadic, and group level within events. Taking the complex systemsleadership theory (CSLT) approach as a starting point, we describe how micro-enactments, whichconsist of the individual behaviors of heterogeneous agents as they interact with one another,create organized programs of action that are subject to evolving group dynamics and show howthis process can be described as self-organizing by observers who are unaware of theintentionality of the individual agents. Seven micro-enactments are described, along with afram...
A Complexity Science Model of Innovation within Entrepreneurial Ventures : Context, Mechanisms an... more A Complexity Science Model of Innovation within Entrepreneurial Ventures : Context, Mechanisms and the Emergence of Qualitative Change
... Leadership in Emergent Events: Exploring the Interactive Process of Leading in Complex Situat... more ... Leadership in Emergent Events: Exploring the Interactive Process of Leading in Complex Situations. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Lichtenstein, BB. Author: Uhl-Bien, M. Author: Marion, R. Author: Seers, A. Author: Orton, JD. Author: Schreiber, C. ...
Complexity and the Nexus of Leadership : Leveraging nonlinear science to create ecologies of inno... more Complexity and the Nexus of Leadership : Leveraging nonlinear science to create ecologies of innovation
This article explores the nexus where purposeful individual-driven collective action, what is cal... more This article explores the nexus where purposeful individual-driven collective action, what is called organizational leadership, interacts with collective intelligence and agency. Based on recent numerical models from complex network theory and empirical studies of collective dynamics in social biology, it describes how intelligent collective agency forms around three order parameters: expectancy alignment, instrumentality inside the collective, and a subjective belief by individual agents in the generalized trustworthiness of other members of a collective. When the value of one or more of these scaling metrics becomes dynamically stable, fractal structures in the collective provide useful information to individuals that informs their choices during interactions including leadership activities. The theory contributes fifteen testable assertions that if supported empirically suggest fruitful ways that new information technology applications could enhance organizational effectiveness.
This paper proposes an analytical framework for a complexity-informed theoretical approach to hum... more This paper proposes an analytical framework for a complexity-informed theoretical approach to human interaction and organizations. In doing so, it addresses the increasing call for better theory supporting the microfoundations of social science. A key premise of the argument is that the primary imperatives of social actors are confronting uncertainty and adapting to change as a collective. As such, in addition to seeking requisite resources, human beings interact to gather and use information for their individual and collective benefit. The paper explores this perspective by proposing a complex systems model of organizing that differs from systems theory by placing the actors inside the system rather than assuming they act on the system. We propose a definition of information that enables us to explore the dynamics of human interaction as observers from the outside without necessarily knowing what the information means. This approach is analogous to how physical and biological syste...
Theories and studies of corruption typically focus on individual ethics and agency problems in or... more Theories and studies of corruption typically focus on individual ethics and agency problems in organizations. In this paper, we use concepts from complexity science to propose a process theory that describes how corruption risk emerges from conditions of uncertainty that are intrinsic in social systems and social interactions. We posit that our theory is valid across multiple levels of scale in social systems. We theorize that corruption involves dynamics that emerge when agents in a system take actions that exploit disequilibrium conditions of uncertainty and ethical ambiguity. Further, systemic corruption emerges when agent interactions are amplified locally in ways that create a hidden value sink which we define as a structure that extracts, or 'drains,' resources from the system for the exclusive use of certain agents. For those participating in corruption, the presence of a value sink reduces local uncertainties about access to resources. This dynamic can attract others to join the value sink, allowing it to persist and grow as a dynamical system attractor, eventually challenging broader norms. We close by identifying four distinct types of corruption risk and suggest policy interventions to manage them. Finally, we discuss ways in which our theoretical approach could motivate future research.
Organizations are complex adaptive systems comprised of heterogeneous agentsinteracting in unplan... more Organizations are complex adaptive systems comprised of heterogeneous agentsinteracting in unplanned ways. According to complexity theory, emergent events occur atvarious levels within a system, and within organizations. The focus in this paper is at the microlevelof analysis. We describe leadership emergence within groups and describe how innovativeaction and communication results from this emergence. In particular, we specify how leadershipemerges at the individual, dyadic, and group level within events. Taking the complex systemsleadership theory (CSLT) approach as a starting point, we describe how micro-enactments, whichconsist of the individual behaviors of heterogeneous agents as they interact with one another,create organized programs of action that are subject to evolving group dynamics and show howthis process can be described as self-organizing by observers who are unaware of theintentionality of the individual agents. Seven micro-enactments are described, along with afram...
A Complexity Science Model of Innovation within Entrepreneurial Ventures : Context, Mechanisms an... more A Complexity Science Model of Innovation within Entrepreneurial Ventures : Context, Mechanisms and the Emergence of Qualitative Change
... Leadership in Emergent Events: Exploring the Interactive Process of Leading in Complex Situat... more ... Leadership in Emergent Events: Exploring the Interactive Process of Leading in Complex Situations. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Lichtenstein, BB. Author: Uhl-Bien, M. Author: Marion, R. Author: Seers, A. Author: Orton, JD. Author: Schreiber, C. ...
Complexity and the Nexus of Leadership : Leveraging nonlinear science to create ecologies of inno... more Complexity and the Nexus of Leadership : Leveraging nonlinear science to create ecologies of innovation
This article explores the nexus where purposeful individual-driven collective action, what is cal... more This article explores the nexus where purposeful individual-driven collective action, what is called organizational leadership, interacts with collective intelligence and agency. Based on recent numerical models from complex network theory and empirical studies of collective dynamics in social biology, it describes how intelligent collective agency forms around three order parameters: expectancy alignment, instrumentality inside the collective, and a subjective belief by individual agents in the generalized trustworthiness of other members of a collective. When the value of one or more of these scaling metrics becomes dynamically stable, fractal structures in the collective provide useful information to individuals that informs their choices during interactions including leadership activities. The theory contributes fifteen testable assertions that if supported empirically suggest fruitful ways that new information technology applications could enhance organizational effectiveness.
This paper proposes an analytical framework for a complexity-informed theoretical approach to hum... more This paper proposes an analytical framework for a complexity-informed theoretical approach to human interaction and organizations. In doing so, it addresses the increasing call for better theory supporting the microfoundations of social science. A key premise of the argument is that the primary imperatives of social actors are confronting uncertainty and adapting to change as a collective. As such, in addition to seeking requisite resources, human beings interact to gather and use information for their individual and collective benefit. The paper explores this perspective by proposing a complex systems model of organizing that differs from systems theory by placing the actors inside the system rather than assuming they act on the system. We propose a definition of information that enables us to explore the dynamics of human interaction as observers from the outside without necessarily knowing what the information means. This approach is analogous to how physical and biological syste...
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Papers by Jim Hazy