Open research questions in Complex Systems and Decision Making
286 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 1,735 Complex Systems and Decision Making papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.
What the literature leaves open
Figure 14 shows that construction vary widely at all levels of GDP per capita. Negative values of ˜U A play a role similar to that of increasing the cost of high project scales in the one-phase model: inhibiting large scales generates projects that are insufficient to deter revisions.
The limited adoption of sustainability principles in HRM practices, with only 20% of organizations in developing countries actively integrating them. The lack of integration of ecological and inclusive perspectives in existing SHRM frameworks. The need for innovative approaches to address sustainability challenges in HRM practices.
A Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Human Resource Management: Integrating Ecological and Inclusive Perspectives · 2025 · DOIHowever, models alone are insufficient, as part of the uncertainties involve justice dilemmas.
How to build a campfire? Participatory modelling with justice · 2026It introduces a novel framework that bridges gaps in the literature by integrating ecological sustainability and social inclusivity dimensions to enhance SHRM practices.
A Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Human Resource Management: Integrating Ecological and Inclusive Perspectives · 2025 · DOIThe strategic issue diagnosis process is a critical and relatively poorly understood element of strategic decision-making (Dutton, Fahey and Narayanan, 1983; Mintzberg, Raisinghani and Theoret, 1976).
We note, however, in passing that even the choice of such words engenders a particular view of science; is scientific knowledge discovered or invented? Is such knowledge justified, validated or corroborated? Although there is no consensus as regards the rationality of theory choice in science, the views of some philosophers may offer useful insights for science educators.
The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of the distinction between complex systems and complex adaptive systems. The paper argues that the distinction is often implicit or unstated in the adoption of complexity ideas.
Most explanations of behaviour rely on psychological interpretation or narrative reasoning. These approaches do not explain why behaviour emerges in the first place.
A Unified Structural Theory of Behaviour Under Constraint: Architecture, Agency, and Non‑Inevitable Futures · 2026 · DOIThe paper acknowledges the current evidential limits of SOC - The methodology is still emerging and requires further research and evaluation
Systemic Organizational Constellations (SOC) as a Soft Methodology for Complexity Reduction and Change: Epistemological and Theoretical Foundations · 2026 · DOIComparative studies of SOC with other Problem Structuring Methods and Soft Systems Methodology - Process and outcome studies of SOC interventions - Further development of the Minimum Reporting Standards for SOC
Systemic Organizational Constellations (SOC) as a Soft Methodology for Complexity Reduction and Change: Epistemological and Theoretical Foundations · 2026 · DOIParadox theory has limitations as a diagnostic lens, not specifying structural functions and information-processing capacities. The paper acknowledges the need for a complementary lens to conceptualise programmes as viable systems.
“Are we ready to innovate?” Diagnosing organisational conditions for educational innovation: A systems perspective on adaptive capacity in Higher Education · 2026 · DOIThere is a diagnostic gap in assessing organisational conditions for innovation. Existing research focuses on designing and managing innovation processes, rather than assessing organisational conditions.
“Are we ready to innovate?” Diagnosing organisational conditions for educational innovation: A systems perspective on adaptive capacity in Higher Education · 2026 · DOIThe gap between the rate of technological change and the ability of systems to adapt and absorb change. The lack of a structural framework for understanding civilizational stability under rapid technological change.
Acceleration-Capacity Gap Model (ACGM): A Structural Framework for Civilizational Stability in the AI Era · 2026 · DOIFurther development of the Relational Dynamics framework. Application of the framework to various domains, including complexity, organisations, governance, AI, language, culture, education, natural and social sciences, and beyond.
Existing ontologies do not provide a high enough resolution account of system trajectory. There is a need for a framework that can help understand how systems form, stabilise, drift, adapt, and sometimes collapse under constraint over time.
Traditional strategic frameworks are insufficient for addressing contemporary challenges. There is a need for a more adaptive and interconnected approach to corporate strategy.
The Evolution of Corporate Strategy: Integrating Systems Thinking into Modern Business Leadership · 2026 · DOICurrent maturity models for KI-Einführung have limitations, such as not considering governance as a separate dimension. There is a lack of a structured framework for diagnosing and planning agent-based transformation.
Autonomie braucht Governance: Ein mehrdimensionales Reifegradkonstrukt für die agentische Transformation von Geschäftsmodellen · 2026 · DOIThe current design paradigm may be insufficient for complex socio-technical systems. There is a need for a framework that integrates systems science and design theory.
Toward design for complexity: an integrated framework for iterative co-evolution across complex socio-technical systems · 2026 · DOIThe complexity of temporal dynamics in educational systems - The need to balance stability and adaptability in temporal governance - The challenge of measuring and operationalizing temporal governance
Toward a Theory of Temporal Governance in Education: How Institutional Time Structures Shape Organizational Decision-Making and Educational Outcomes · 2026 · DOIFuture empirical research can use the proposed framework to investigate the relationships between institutional time structures, temporal governance, decision-making processes, and educational outcomes - Future studies can explore the application of temporal governance in different educational contexts
Toward a Theory of Temporal Governance in Education: How Institutional Time Structures Shape Organizational Decision-Making and Educational Outcomes · 2026 · DOIFuture research could explore the application of Importance Performance Analysis and system dynamics simulation to other industries or locations. Future research could investigate the impact of improving return guarantees, product design, and promotions on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Feasibility of Value Propositions Based on Importance Performance Analysis and Risk Using Simulation: Evidence From SMEs · 2026 · DOIThe study identifies a gap in the literature on the feasibility of value propositions in Small and Medium Enterprises. The study highlights the need for a strategic framework to enhance customer satisfaction, reduce operational costs, and attain sustainable growth.
Feasibility of Value Propositions Based on Importance Performance Analysis and Risk Using Simulation: Evidence From SMEs · 2026 · DOINone of these papers provide a model-agnostic framework or toolkit for measuring when and how an adaptive system should recalibrate its user model in response to detected drift in user state; existing work assumes static or slowly-changing user profiles but does not operationalize detection and response to sudden shifts in needs, knowledge, or preferences.
No study in this set jointly models how multiple dimensions of user state—simultaneously tracking evolving knowledge level, interaction history, emotional or cognitive load, and explicit preferences—should be integrated into a single adaptive mechanism; existing work treats these as separate variables rather than an interdependent state vector.
The note forms part of the Governance Capability Evolution Framework (GCEF) research programme developed through PHOENIX Knowledge Hub and provides a bridge toward further research on governance as an evolving capability rather than a static control set.
Most-cited papers in Complex Systems and Decision Making
- Theory Building From Cases: Opportunities And Challenges · Academy of Management Journal · 2007 · 12,308 citations
- Dilemmas in a general theory of planning · Policy Sciences · 1973 · 11,214 citations
- Educational Organizations as Loosely Coupled Systems · Administrative Science Quarterly · 1976 · 5,005 citations
- A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice · Administrative Science Quarterly · 1972 · 4,638 citations
- Business Model Design: An Activity System Perspective · Long Range Planning · 2009 · 2,184 citations
- Ecosystem as Structure · Journal of Management · 2016 · 2,067 citations
- Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future · Accounting Organizations and Society · 2003 · 1,854 citations
- Organization Design: An Information Processing View · INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics · 1974 · 1,670 citations
- From Strategy to Business Models and onto Tactics · Long Range Planning · 2010 · 1,550 citations
- Building Theory about Theory Building: What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution? · Academy of Management Review · 2011 · 1,320 citations
Most recent work
- Diagnosing pharmaceutical regulatory agencies: A metacybernetic framework for innovation and governance · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · 2026
- The architecture of impact: Defining what it takes to publish in organizational dynamics · Organizational Dynamics · 2026
- The overlooked challenges of individual and group dynamics in citizens’ assemblies · Nordic Journal of Innovation in the Public Sector · 2026
- Brokers’ facilitation of cross-organizational learning and working on wicked problems · The Learning Organization · 2026
- Beyond the Training Data: Confidence‐Guided Mixing of Parameterizations in a Hybrid AI‐Climate Model · Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems · 2026
- Supporting systems thinking: Collaborative learning with an interactive carbon cycle visualisation · International Journal of Science Education · 2026
- Synthetic case studies in management education: The support of Generative AI · Innovations in Education and Teaching International · 2026
- It’s time to opt out: Metacognitive analysis of time regulation under uncertainty. · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · 2026
- Complex systems vs. complex adaptive systems: why the difference matters · Frontiers in Complex Systems · 2026
- System dynamics-based dynamic evaluation of value synergy and effectiveness verification of governance strategies for urban water conservancy projects · Expert Systems with Applications · 2026
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