Autopoiesis vs. social autopoiesis: critical evaluation and implications for understanding firms as autopoietic social systems

Radosavljevic, M. (2008) Autopoiesis vs. social autopoiesis: critical evaluation and implications for understanding firms as autopoietic social systems. International Journal of General Systems, 37 (2). pp. 215-230. ISSN 1563-5104 doi: 10.1080/03081070701251018

Abstract/Summary

The main objective of this study is to revisit the fundamental postulations of autopoietic self-production wrapped within the autopoietic six-point key and to investigate whether or not firms as specific social systems can be treated as autopoietic unities. In order to do so firms have to be defined as simple and composite unities whereupon their boundaries have to be clearly identifiable. The test of social autopoiesis reveals that firms can be viewed as autopoietic social systems that exist in the communicative space with employees' firm-specific communicative sub-domains as their components. Furthermore, it is argued that the social reification of autopoiesis (autokoinopoiesis) in firms is quintessentially interconnected with physical autopoiesis of their employees (autophysiopoiesis). Discontiguous focus on productivity as firms' obvious physical implication may thus be upgraded by a very social nature of ideactivity, firms' only real survival force.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/8126
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of the Built Environment
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
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