Capitalizing on Complexity in Modern Business Environments: A Network-Based Perspective for Projects and Organizations

Abstract

Traditional approaches to design organizations are insufficient to withstand the constraints imposed by modern business environments that are in permanent transformation with a constant flow of information, interactions and behaviors of agents, and the non-linear relationship between resources and products. By building on the nature and dynamics of Networks, it is possible ideating organizational architectures and processes that capitalize on the complexity emerged from modern economies. These novel architectures have a significant potential to induce self-adaptation and co-evolutionary processes between agents, organizations and the external environment. The design of organizations able to navigate complex environments requires the adoption of a conceptual framework that accounts for the strategic characterization of the Network agents and the adoption of an open-systems perspective that guides the effective interaction with the external context. This allows optimizing information assimilation and knowledge production processes that will drive the ideation of strategic scenarios. As a result, the organization will increase its potential to synchronize adaptation with its business ecosystem and its readiness for strategic transformation.