A Methodological Proposal for the Complementarity of the SSM and the VSM for the Analysis of Viability in Organizations

Ana Gabriela Ramírez-Gutiérrez (), Pedro Pablo Cardoso-Castro and Ricardo Tejeida-Padilla
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Ana Gabriela Ramírez-Gutiérrez: Universidad Panamericana
Pedro Pablo Cardoso-Castro: Leeds Beckett University
Ricardo Tejeida-Padilla: Instituto Politécnico Nacional

Systemic Practice and Action Research, 2021, vol. 34, issue 3, No 6, 357 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper presents a protocol that establishes the complementarity between Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and the Viable System Model (VSM) for the analysis of viability in organizations. Various studies demonstrate the advantages of both hard and soft multimethodologies, especially in the field of operational research (OR). Relying on a literature review of multimethodology, the present research specifically focuses on papers that examine the resolution of problem situations in organizations using SSM and VSM. It subsequently addresses approaches to both methodologies and, as a result, presents the characteristics that favor complementarity. Thus, this research primarily contributes with a methodological proposal that integrates both SSM and VSM. In terms of its technical-methodological approach, this study proposes a comprehensive protocol for the integration of SSM and VSM. While some studies do extol the benefits of combining the two methodologies, a systematic protocol for their integration is still lacking. As such, the protocol presented herein consists of six steps used to diagnose or design a viable organization that includes a questionnaire for detecting organizational pathologies.

Keywords: Systems thinking; Soft system methodology; Viable system model; Complementarity; Organizations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11213-020-09536-7

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