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This paper seeks to address the need for a comprehensive theoretical reference underlying the concerns of social complexity. The shortcomings of a very powerful yet cognitively biased theoretical model like Luhmann's theory of social systems especially call for the integration of the whole person into conceptualising social complexity. The paper aims to question what the conditions are for the possibility to successfully conceptualise social complexity.

Based on field research to explore the practical challenges of dealing with social complexity, the paper comprises discourse analysis and literature review. Luhmann's theory of social systems proved to be a fruitful starting point to integrate the latter research in neurosciences in a systemic way.

The paper finds that embedded mind thinking and holonic evolution of organism, psyche and society emerged out of the research as powerful thought figures. They allow for an improved practical and theoretical navigation on the ocean of social complexity.

The results implications for how we conceptualise social complexity and the ways we approach ourselves, how we govern, teach, heal, coach, learn, train, create, improve and innovate. Increasing our capabilities to meet social complexity will improve management, change, governance and project performance.

Addressing Luhmann's theory of social systems in the broader context of social complexity and neurosciences allowed for a reintegration of the whole person into the field of social complexity based not only on meaning but on feeling as well.

Change management approaches and attempts of organisational development often fail. In search of business excellence, best practice managers and consultants overestimate the value of conceptual work and forget about the actual organisation and the virtues of the people who have to carry the burden of Change.

The theory of Applied Narratives from which the systemic inquiry (SI) methodology is derived relates to Heinz von Foerster's impact on the practice of organisational development, change management and systemic intervention. Understanding an organisation being an observer of itself gives way to benefit from constructivism and systems theory and puts the people and their contribution back into the centre of interest.

Applied Narratives and SI give a good insight into the importance of the mechanics of organisational identity for change management and organisational development. SI facilitates genuine change and real improvements. It works with the opportunities of the organisation and the capabilities of the people and avoids the limitations of short sighted concepts.

Systemic Inquiry shows a way to work closer with the organisation and the people. SI overcomes the necessity to deal with resistance. People who find their virtues and ideas well appreciated do not resist, on the contrary they contribute and support. They become the change agents conventional change management always dreamt of.

Systemic inquiry addresses both managers and consultants. SI shows how a systemic approach can help to implement effective, genuine and authentic change.

The author is interested in variations by age in women's attitudes to the military and defence and support for women's participation in the military. Analysis of public opinion data suggests that women in Switzerland have substantial and consistently non‐militaristic leanings which the author seeks to explain.

When managers are faced with making a decision about what to do in a particular situation, do they base that decision on findings from research? This research paper seeks to report on qualitative and quantitative research which examined school principals' perceptions of barriers to the use of research.

To facilitate a comparison the qualitative and quantitative study was conducted simultaneously in two countries, i.e. England and Israel, using individual and group interviews, and the Barriers Scale survey instrument.

The results of tests indicated that factors associated with the research itself (e.g. relevance and access), were significant barriers to research use for principals from both countries (compared with factors associated with the setting, the presentation of research, and the individual).

The authors acknowledge some limitations with respect to equivalence across cultures, particularly functional and contextual (e.g. political) equivalence.

The paper concludes that multiple strategies would be required to address a number of issues related to the dissemination of research and ways of addressing the gap between the aims of researchers, and the needs and expectations of practitioners.

The topic is timely, and a comparative approach is particularly useful in any social area, especially in public school management.

Presents an “in memoriam” tribute to Heinz von Foerster.

Outlines his work.

Introduces his inspiring contributions in the applied sciences and to the more general researches on the theoretical and practical implications of the cybernetic epistemology.

Gives insights to the importance of the work of von Foerster.

This study investigates the influences of brands, sources and congruence on perceived product quality, as well as the role of content creator types in Instagram influencer marketing for luxury brands.

The samples consisted of Instagram users who follow content creators who posted about luxury brands. A survey instrument was used to collect data from 916 respondents who were of working age (22–55 years old).

The analysis showed acceptable fits for both measurement and structural models. The results reveal the positive effect of luxury brand identity on content attributes, which influence both content creator-product fit and perceived product quality and the direct influence of fit on perceived quality. Perceived uniqueness acts as a negative driver.

The findings of this study guide luxury brand marketers in choosing peers and influencers, selecting appropriate content creators and emphasizing effective content attributes.

This study identifies novel antecedents for perceived quality, a part of brand equity, including drivers and obstacles. It also explores the impact of content creator types, such as friends and/or acquaintances, compared to influencers and/or celebrities, offering insights beyond previous research.

Green signaling refers to the notion that environmentally friendly purchases signal consumers' prosociality and willingness to pay more, thus enhancing their social status. This study investigated the green signaling effect among Gen Z and Millennial consumers on social media by adopting costly signaling theory.

A series of experimental studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. Thus, a 2 (organic vs. nonorganic) × 2 (luxury vs. non-luxury) between-subjects design was used in Study 1 (150 participants) and a 2 (organic vs. nonorganic) × 2 (high vs. low brand authenticity) between-subjects design was employed in Study 2 (148 participants).

The results of Studies 1 and 2 confirmed the mediating role of perceived status in the relationship between apparel greenness and purchase intention. However, brand label and authenticity did not have a moderating influence. The overall findings confirmed the green signaling effect of organic apparel in the social media marketing context.

This study contributes to the existing literature by suggesting a cultural capital perspective for promoting green products among Gen Z and Millennial consumers. It also encourages marketers to implement green messaging on social media, highlighting the amount of resources and efforts invested in sustainable production.

This study adopted existing brands to test the hypotheses, using images of female influencers.

Although there are more primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) than research-oriented institutions (ROIs) in the United States and more professors work at PUIs than ROIs, most research on gender inequality among faculty has focused on ROIs. Do patterns of women’s numeric scarcity, gender-hostile work climates, and difficulties with work-life balance found at ROIs hold true for PUIs? This chapter examines one PUI to address this question.

We analyze data from four sources: an archival database of all professors at the institution, interviews with full and associate professors, and two surveys.

Similar to ROIs, our study found women were less likely to achieve higher ranks, and take longer than men to do so. However, we find greater numbers of women and few gender differences in perception of climate, so numeric scarcity and gender-hostile climate cannot explain persistent lags in women’s advancement. Instead, we find women struggle with work-life balance more than men, especially in science disciplines. Thus, gender parity in advancement has yet to fully emerge, despite more women in the faculty and a more equitable climate than at ROIs.

Differences between faculty cohorts are intensified at the PUI because of changes to the institution’s mission, but our research demonstrates that not all gendered patterns found at ROIs apply to PUIs.

PUIs that increasingly emphasize scholarly output should enact family-friendly policies to support all professors, including on-campus or subsidized childcare, flexible scheduling, family leave, and dual-career hiring policies.

This chapter demonstrates that there are important differences between ROIs and PUIs that must be taken into account if we are to understand and remedy gender inequality in academia.