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Article
Publication date: 25 September 2018

Omar Sacilotto Donaires, Luciana Oranges Cezarino, Adriana Cristina Ferreira Caldana and Lara Liboni

The concept of sustainability evokes a multiplicity of meanings, depending on the field. Some authors have criticized the concept for its vagueness. Notwithstanding this…

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Abstract

Purpose

The concept of sustainability evokes a multiplicity of meanings, depending on the field. Some authors have criticized the concept for its vagueness. Notwithstanding this criticism, worldwide efforts to meet the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are in progress and are expected to yield results by 2030. This paper aims to addresses two issues and make two primary contributions. First, the concept of sustainability is revisited to develop its integrative understanding. This concept is built on systems thinking – specifically, on the concepts of synergy, emergence, recursion and self-organization. Second, an approach is developed to help determine whether the efforts being made towards the SDGs can be expected to be effective (i.e., whether the world can hope to soon be a system that self-organizes towards sustainability).

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the assumption that the SDGs and their respective targets are systemically interrelated, the data on the progress towards the SDGs are correlated and the outcome is analysed.

Findings

The emerging pattern of correlations reflected the systemic coherence of the efforts as an indication of self-organization towards sustainability. This pattern also revealed that the efforts are still spotty and that the systemic synergy has not yet taken place. This correlation approach to Brazil is then applied. The data about Brazil’s progress towards the SDGs from the World Bank’s Word Development Indicators (WDI) database are gathered. The outcomes indicated that Brazil as a whole cannot yet be seen as self-organizing system that is evolving towards sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

To enable the calculation of the correlation matrix, the data series were not allowed to have missing values. Some of the WDI data series had many missing values and had to be eliminated. This unfortunately reduced the variability of the original data. In addition, the missing values in the remaining data series had to be calculated by means of interpolation or extrapolation. There are alternative algorithms to perform such functions. The impact of the interpolation and extrapolation of the missing values on the study, as well as the pros and cons of different algorithms, required investigation. It is important to remark that the WDI series was the only global and open data set that aligned with the SDGs.

Social implications

In Brazil, it is important to maintain the public policies that affect SDG 1-6, but it is necessary to develop policies geared towards SDG 12. Environmental goals also need more public policies (SDGs 14 and 15). To achieve this 2030 Agenda, much effort will be required for SDG 17, which is related to greater synergy through partnerships.

Originality/value

Three qualitatively distinct levels of efforts to sustainability are identified: individual, organizational and world activities. At the individual level, progress regarding sustainability depends on personal attitudes, including the willingness to abandon a self-centred lifestyle in favour of a more cooperative way of living and making decisions, and to embrace a new approach to ethics, which replaces self-interest by self-denial and self-sacrifice (de Raadt & de Raadt, 2014). At the organizational level, a paradox of the need to internalize environmental and social costs into generic strategies and the sustainability strategy that involves core businesses are challenges for systems working towards sustainability. When it comes to global level, in this paper, the authors tried to make a contribution to push forward the frontier of knowledge by proposing an approach to understand whether the progress made towards the SDGs in the past 25 years indicates that the world is, after all, organizing for sustainability (Schwaninger, 2015).

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 48 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1992

J.D.R. de Raadt

Examines two types of cybernetic filters which can be incorporated in a management information system (MIS). The design of these filters is dependent on the type of uncertainties…

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Abstract

Examines two types of cybernetic filters which can be incorporated in a management information system (MIS). The design of these filters is dependent on the type of uncertainties which an organization experiences in its environment and also on the response time of the organization to environmental disturbances. The response time is in turn determined by Ashby's law of requisite variety. Incorporating these cybernetic filters into an MIS has three effects on the organization. First, it eliminates managerial activity in any organizational level which is not conducive to equilibrium and, consequently, consenes managerial resources Secondly, it blocks the conveyance of noise — in the customary heaps of computer printouts manufactured by the MIS — to management. Thirdly, it ensures that information is conveyed to the level of regulation which can most aptly deal with a particular disturbance.

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Kybernetes, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1991

J.D.R. de Raadt

The viability of a social system is dependent upon its ability to generate information and learn. This requires an appropriate arrangement of its information systems…

148

Abstract

The viability of a social system is dependent upon its ability to generate information and learn. This requires an appropriate arrangement of its information systems, incorporating two types of recursions and reflecting two methods of learning. The first method generates information; the second one invokes it from a higher organisational level. Notwithstanding these recursions, the system will not learn unless it is able to face a certain level of inclemency from its environment that compels it into a learning mode.

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Kybernetes, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 1996

Johannes van der Zouwen

Theories in sociocybernetics usually have a high degree of complexity, which may lead to methodological problems when these theories are tested in confrontation with “real world…

147

Abstract

Theories in sociocybernetics usually have a high degree of complexity, which may lead to methodological problems when these theories are tested in confrontation with “real world data”. From a review of the literature it appears that only a small percentage of the sociocyberneticians make an attempt to test their theory empirically. Two alternative approaches are used: the deduction from the theory of a series of univariate and bivariate hypotheses, subsequently tested with the usual statistical methods; and the reformulation of the theory into a simulation model and comparing the trajectories generated by the computer with time series of “real world data”;. Both approaches have their advantages and risks. It is shown in a simulation experiment that the inclusion of various sociocybernetical ideas (self‐referencing, goal‐referencing, morphogenesis) leads to a model with many degrees of freedom, and consequently of a large “no man’s land” in between the set of “verifiers” and the set of “falsifiers” of the theory.

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Kybernetes, vol. 25 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

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Publication date: 17 September 2014

Dwayne Woods

This chapter argues that despite the proverbial claim that populism is ill-defined and has too broad a conceptual net, the literature on the subject tends to converge toward four…

Abstract

This chapter argues that despite the proverbial claim that populism is ill-defined and has too broad a conceptual net, the literature on the subject tends to converge toward four core elements of populism that provides a conceptual and analytical unity. Furthermore, the conceptual core of populism explains why the concept has been able to encompass a wide range of populist manifestations without becoming an empty analytical shell. Also, the conceptual cores have helped provide the empirical basis that has given rise to a diverse and innovative literature that seeks to measure and compare cross-nationally populism.

Details

The Many Faces of Populism: Current Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-258-5

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1998

B.H. Rudall

Gives reports and surveys of selected current research and developments in systems and cybernetics. They include: A calculus of ethics for a systemic world, Biocybernetics…

403

Abstract

Gives reports and surveys of selected current research and developments in systems and cybernetics. They include: A calculus of ethics for a systemic world, Biocybernetics, Neuroscience, Neural technology, Computational model for chocolate, Safety‐critical systems (SCSs), Scientific and technical information from Russia, Cybernetics and systems control, Automation and cybernetics, UK science research.

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Kybernetes, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

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Article
Publication date: 17 September 2020

Haruna Maama

This study investigated the influence of institutional environment on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) accounting practices of banks in West Africa. The purpose of…

1091

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated the influence of institutional environment on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) accounting practices of banks in West Africa. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the size of an economy and the governance structure of a country is relevant for ESG accounting practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applied content analysis on 602 annual reports of 67 banks in 5 countries in West Africa. A generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation technique was used for the regression analysis.

Findings

The evidence showed that GDP has a positive and insignificant relationship with ESG reporting, suggesting that the size of an economy is not relevant for ESG accounting. The study further found that Corruption Perception Index has a positive and significant relationship with ESG accounting. This result implies that a country’s political environment is germane for ESG accounting. Firm-specific factors, such as firms’ size, value and age have positive and significant relationships with ESG accounting while net profit margin and leverage have negative relationships with ESG accounting. The study concludes that a country’s institutional environment influences the ESG accounting practices of its firms.

Practical implications

The governments of countries in West Africa must lay an enabling political and economic foundation to improve the accounting practices of firms, which is a critical factor for attracting investments.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the ESG accounting literature in developing countries which is found to be scarce.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

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Article
Publication date: 26 October 2021

Bokolo Anthony Jnr, Sobah Abbas Petersen and John Krogstie

Enterprise architecture (EA) is usually adopted as an approach for managing enterprise complexities and aligning business and information technology (IT) capabilities. Although IT…

381

Abstract

Purpose

Enterprise architecture (EA) is usually adopted as an approach for managing enterprise complexities and aligning business and information technology (IT) capabilities. Although IT practitioners and researchers agree about the potential applicability and benefits of EA in smart cities, little is known about the factors that influence the acceptance and usefulness of EA in smart cities. Thus, EA acceptance and usage remains a central concern of urban research and practice. Similarly, there are fewer studies that explored EA adoption from the context of enterprises that provide digital services in cities grounded on empirical evidence. Therefore, this study assesses the acceptance and usefulness of EA in smart cities context by developing an EA adoption model drawing on the DeLone and McLean Information System (IS) success model.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the identified factors survey questionnaire was designed and sent out to participants which includes IT professionals, senior managers and consultants from 18 organizations in Norway and Ireland involved in a smart city project (+CityxChange) (https://cityxchange.eu/). Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and structural equation modelling using partial least square was applied for data analysis.

Findings

The results suggest that service quality and system quality positively impact user satisfaction of EA and user's intention to use EA. More importantly, information quality does not influence user satisfaction of EA, and the user satisfaction of EA and user's intention to use EA significantly influences the net benefit of EA.

Originality/value

This study provides a complete understanding for academicians and IT practitioners regarding the factors and impacts on EA acceptance and use in smart cities. Finally, this study discusses the implications of this research and provides recommendations for future research.

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Article
Publication date: 5 September 2017

Julio César Puche Regaliza, Alfredo Jiménez and Pablo Arranz Val

The purpose of this paper is to identify the principal success factors of a software project structured upon the basis of the viable system model (VSM).

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the principal success factors of a software project structured upon the basis of the viable system model (VSM).

Design/methodology/approach

To do so, an exploratory empirical analysis is conducted of a set of software projects, in which the degree of compliance with the requirements set down by the VSM and the success rating of their development are identified.

Findings

The results of the study indicate that the most influential factors in achieving global viability in a software project are the local environment, the organizational units and the intelligent system. Building on those factors, a mathematical prediction model is developed, reaching an accuracy of 63.16 percent in its predictions.

Research limitations/implications

The authors wish to point out that due to the number of projects employed in the statistical analysis, the results have to be interpreted with caution and are of an exploratory nature.

Practical implications

The authors seek to show that the VSM is an extremely useful tool for the management of software projects and, by extension, projects of a general nature. The authors therefore suggest that knowledge of VSM would be of incalculable value for managers wishing to manage projects successfully and to survive in such a complex and rapidly changing environment as the software project environment is. Its application allows us to diagnose and to detect the critical factors to achieve such success.

Social implications

In addition, the research seeks to increase the universality of VSM, contributing to a better understanding of it and a better and greater formalization of it in favor of its acceptance and its practical use, seeking in this way to palliate some critical principals related to its abstraction and limited applicability and to increase its rigor and validity as an instrument for the diagnosis and the design of viable organizations.

Originality/value

The novelty of this study is therefore principally found in the application of the VSM to the organizational structure of a software project in such a way that it allows us to detect key factors in its success. Besides, building on the validation of this proposal through the completion of a quantitative empirical analysis, this study also offers a prediction mathematical model that relates key factors with the success of the project.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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Article
Publication date: 5 May 2015

Julio César Puche Regaliza

The purpose of this paper is to detect the degree of influence between applying the Viable Systems Model (VSM), developed by Stafford Beer, on a software project and its viability…

559

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to detect the degree of influence between applying the Viable Systems Model (VSM), developed by Stafford Beer, on a software project and its viability or success.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed a quantitative analysis in which it was necessary to identify theoretical constructs of the VSM (Systems One to Five) and of the viability or success of the software project, measuring each of the indicators together. These indicators have been included in a questionnaire or standardised measurement tool, which was subsequently used for data collection by a number of companies in the information and communications technology sector in Castilla y León. The obtained data served as the basis for a number of results through the definition of a structural equation model.

Findings

The results support the particular importance of Systems One and Four in a software project. In other words, software projects need to clearly define their operational elements (e.g. organisational units, business units, working environments, and working teams) and the relationships that appear between them. Additionally, in software projects it is necessary to determine the appropriate prevention actions to be able to observe the changes that take place in their environment and thus make decisions that allow the project to adapt to these changes.

Originality/value

The originality is based on the VSM application in software projects organisation. The value is based on VSM formalisation and practical application, to overcome the criticism about its abstract nature.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 44 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

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