Complexity science reframes leadership by focusing on the dynamic interactions
between all individuals, explaining how those interactions can, under certain conditions, produce emergent outcomes. We ...develop a Leadership of Emergence using this approach, through an analysis of three empirical studies which document emergence in distinct contexts. Each of these studies identifies the same four “conditions” for emergence: the presence of a Dis-equilibrium state, Amplifying actions, Recombination/“Self-organization”, and Stabilizing feedback. From these studies we also show how these conditions can be generated through nine specific behaviors which leaders can enact, including: Disrupt existing patterns through embracing uncertainty and creating controversy, Encourage novelty by allowing experiments and supporting collective action, Provide sensemaking and sensegiving through the artful use of language and symbols, and Stabilize the system by Integrating local constraints. Finally, we suggest ways for advancing a meso-model of leadership, and show how our findings can improve complexity science applications in management.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Stages of growth models were the most frequent theoretical approach to understanding entrepreneurial business growth from 1962 to 2006; they built on the growth imperative and developmental models of ...that time. An analysis of the universe of such models (n = 104) published in the management literature showed no consensus on basic constructs of the approach, and no empirical confirmation of stages theory. However, by changing two propositions of stages theory, a new dynamic states approach was derived. The dynamic states approach has far greater explanatory power than its precursor, and is compatible with leading edge research in entrepreneurship.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We develop a novel approach to identify regions of the genome underlying population genetic differentiation in any genetic data where the underlying population structure is unknown, or where the ...interest is assessing divergence along a gradient. By combining the statistical framework for genome-wide association studies (GWASs) with eigenvector decomposition (EigenGWAS), which is commonly used in population genetics to characterize the structure of genetic data, loci under selection can be identified without a requirement for discrete populations. We show through theory and simulation that our approach can identify regions under selection along gradients of ancestry, and in real data we confirm this by demonstrating LCT to be under selection between HapMap CEU-TSI cohorts, and we then validate this selection signal across European countries in the POPRES samples. HERC2 was also found to be differentiated between both the CEU-TSI cohort and within the POPRES sample, reflecting the likely anthropological differences in skin and hair colour between northern and southern European populations. Controlling for population stratification is of great importance in any quantitative genetic study and our approach also provides a simple, fast and accurate way of predicting principal components in independent samples. With ever increasing sample sizes across many fields, this approach is likely to be greatly utilized to gain individual-level eigenvectors avoiding the computational challenges associated with conducting singular value decomposition in large data sets. We have developed freely available software, Genetic Analysis Repository (GEAR), to facilitate the application of the methods.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Faith is very important to many researchers, but it is rarely discussed as a part of academic research, as science and faith are frequently seen as separate from one another. This paper takes a ...different position by arguing that there are complementarities to be gained by those who have important faith convictions and who are serious about entrepreneurship research. The authors, one Christian and the other Jewish, discuss how their faiths influence their respective research journeys, specifically in reference to entrepreneurship. We observe the coinherences-how a spiritual principle can show itself in the material realm-of these two vital areas and consider the implications for those interested in considering how science (their research) and their faith interact.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
5.
Complexity dynamics of nascent entrepreneurship Lichtenstein, Benyamin B.; Carter, Nancy M.; Dooley, Kevin J. ...
Journal of business venturing,
03/2007, Volume:
22, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
We use theory and methods from complexity science to examine dynamic patterns among activities undertaken by nascent entrepreneurs in the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics. We develop ...hypotheses predicting that certain dynamic patterns in start-up activities will lead to the emergence of new firms when: (1) the rate of start-up activities is high, (2) start-up activities are spread out over time, and (3) start-up activities are concentrated later rather than earlier over time. All three hypotheses are confirmed. The paper concludes with some suggestions for the role of complexity science for furthering insights into the process of organization creation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Modeling the dynamics of nascent entrepreneurship provides insight into how organizations are created. In order to study this complex phenomenon we develop a longitudinal case study and analyze it ...with respect to three modes of organizing: vision, strategic organizing, and tactical organizing. Multiple sources of data are used to identify changes within and across these three modes. Using longitudinal content analysis and other complexity science methods, we found a nearly simultaneous shift in all three modes, indicating a punctuation event. We define this punctuation as an “emergence event,” and provide a process model of organizational emergence showing that a shift in tactical organizing generated a shift in strategic organizing, which resulted in a shift in the vision (identity) of the firm. We conclude with some theoretical implications of our analysis.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
7.
Collaborating for Systemic Change Senge, Peter M; Lichtenstein, Benyamin B; Kaeufer, Katrin ...
MIT Sloan management review,
12/2007, Volume:
48, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Today, as consumer choices on one side of the planet affect living conditions for people on the other side and complex supply chains span the globe, businesses are facing a host of sustainability ...problems -- social and ecological imbalances created by this globalization. Beginning in the late 1990s, organizational members of the Society for Organizational Learning (including Shell, Harley-Davidson, HP, Xerox and Nike, among others) began a variety of initiatives focusing on collaborative solutions to a variety of sustainability issues. The groups goals have included the application of systems thinking, working with mental models, and fostering personal and shared vision to face these complex sustainability issues. Through its work, SoL (of which two of the authors are founding members) has learned that successful collaborative efforts embrace three interconnected types of work -- conceptual, relational and action-driven -- which together build a healthy learning ecology for systemic change. In this article, the authors offer examples from particular projects in which this learning ecology provided an important foundation for substantive progress, and they draw lessons for companies and managers regarding each of the three types of work. Ultimately, the authors conclude that conceptual, relational and action-driven work must be systemically interwoven and that there is little real precedent for that. They offer several guidelines for how it can be accomplished, emphasizing leadership and transactional networks. Finally, they pose three questions that must be answered if systemic solutions are to be successful: (1) How can we get beyond benchmarking to building learning communities? (2) What is the right balance between specifying goals and creating space for reflection and innovation? (3) What is the right balance between private interest and public knowledge? PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Aims/hypothesis The cluster of obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia and hypertension, called the metabolic syndrome, has been suggested as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and type 2 ...diabetes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether there are common genetic and environmental factors influencing this cluster in a general population of twin pairs. Materials and methods A multivariate genetic analysis was performed on nine endophenotypes associated with the metabolic syndrome from 625 adult twin pairs of the GEMINAKAR study of the Danish Twin Registry. Results All endophenotypes showed moderate to high heritability (0.31-0.69) and small common environmental variance (0.05-0.21). In general, genetic and phenotypic correlations between the endophenotypes were strong only within sets of physiologically similar endophenotypes, but weak to moderate for other pairs of endophenotypes. However, moderate correlations between insulin resistance indices and either obesity-related endophenotypes or triacylglycerol levels indicated that some common genetic backgrounds are shared between those components. Conclusions/interpretation We demonstrated that, in a general population, the endophenotypes associated with the metabolic syndrome apparently do not share a substantial common genetic or familial environmental background.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Despite a century of research on complex traits in humans, the relative importance and specific nature of the influences of genes and environment on human traits remain controversial. We report a ...meta-analysis of twin correlations and reported variance components for 17,804 traits from 2,748 publications including 14,558,903 partly dependent twin pairs, virtually all published twin studies of complex traits. Estimates of heritability cluster strongly within functional domains, and across all traits the reported heritability is 49%. For a majority (69%) of traits, the observed twin correlations are consistent with a simple and parsimonious model where twin resemblance is solely due to additive genetic variation. The data are inconsistent with substantial influences from shared environment or non-additive genetic variation. This study provides the most comprehensive analysis of the causes of individual differences in human traits thus far and will guide future gene-mapping efforts. All the results can be visualized using the MaTCH webtool.
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DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Healthcare spending will exceed $4 trillion by 2017, a trend that is leading executives to implement information technology (IT) systems to contain these rising costs. Studies show that numerous ...factors determine the outcome and net benefits of IT in healthcare. However, what happens when a newly implemented IT system results in negative outcomes? We explore this question by examining a newly implemented IT system in a large hospital that was yielding none of the benefits for which its designers had hoped. Using an expanded set of analytic lenses, our in-depth study found that political issues were a major stumbling block to the implementation of this IT system, as the interests of IT managers were different from those of the system's users. In addition, cultural values among these stakeholders were not aligned. The new IT system carried very different meanings for these two key groups. These political and cultural issues, which reflect a broader set of factors than is commonly applied in IT or in management, led to specific recommendations designed to improve the system's viability and benefits. In a follow-up analysis we found that these alternative lenses helped increase the intended usage of the IT system by 16 percent in the first year, yielding a 20 percent improvement in performance. By better understanding the cultural and political significance of IT implementation, managers may thus improve the effectiveness of new information technologies for containing costs in hospitals.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
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