Within the systems movement, several strands and different sub-movements have developed in the last two or three decades. One of them is the “critical systems approach” which opposes certain assumptions and methodological and practical implications of the so-called hard and soft systems approaches. The most essential characteristics of the approach are its critical standpoint against exclusion ...

Abstract Soft systems methodology (SSM) is an approach for tackling problematical, messy situations of all kinds. It is an action-oriented process of inquiry into problematic situations in which users learn their way from finding out about the situation, to taking action to improve it. The learning emerges via an organised process in which the situation is explored using a set of models of purp...

Successful uses of information technologies usually require teams of developers working in concert (rather than individuals working alone); implying that methodological prescriptions for such developers should centre on issues such as communication and co-ordination. Here, it will be argued that the epistemology proffered by the SSM advocates does not provide a practical basis upon which to con...

Within the context of a three year applied research project conducted from 2003-2006 in a North American university library, staff were encouraged to reconsider organizational assumptions and design processes. The project involved an organizational leader and an external consultant who introduced and collaboratively applied Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) practice. Project results suggest the ef...

There has been a growing interest in the use of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) in helping solve information systems problems. This paper applies the SSM methodology within the context of action research in solving a knowledge management problem in a real world situation. The level of success in implementation of knowledge management initiatives is significantly dependent on the right balance of...

Purpose – Globalization and digitalization have led to the need for a different view of international business. Computer technology, especially in the form of enterprise systems, presents the opportunity to apply best (or at least better) practices. Twentieth century enterprise systems were focused on internal optimization. Twenty-first century enterprise systems need to be much more open, and ...

Replacing a hard decision by a soft targets version including an attentional mechanism provides performance advantage and flexibility to solve classification tasks. In this paper, we modify the standard emphasized soft target method by proposing two new ideas, to avoid unnecessary updating and inappropriate definition of soft targets, in order to increase designs performance. Experimental resul...

Worldwide, soft regulation such as codes of conduct and benchmarks has been introduced to cope with the uncertain risks and benefits of nanotechnologies. However, it seems that these regulations are facing effectiveness problems. For instance, the European Commission's 2008 Nano Code of Conduct has not yet been implemented in the member states. Using the analytical framework of responsive regul...

Article history: Received 13 January 2014 Received in revised form 18 November 2014 Accepted 25 November 2014 Available online 22 December 2014 Prior studies on knowledge-sharing motivations mostly concentrate on discussing motivation in terms of level or amount, and thus, discussions regarding the quality of motivations, in terms of their levels of autonomy, are scarce. Additionally, while res...