5-2 Annotated Bibliography: Systems Thinking Annotated Bibliography Guidelines and Rubric Select two scholarly articles on topics relevant to systems thinking. Summarize, evaluate and analyze each art

wicked problems); yet, many strategy scholars approach these wicked pro\ blems in the same way they approach business problems—by building causal models that seek to optimize some form of organizational success. Strategy scholars seek to reduce complexity, focusing on the si\ gnificant variables that explain the salient outcomes. This approach to wicked problems, ironically, divo\ rces firms from the very social- ecological context that makes the problem “wicked.” In this essay,\ we argue that strategy research into wicked problems can benefit from systems thinking, which deviates radically from the reductionist approach to analysis taken by many strategy scholars. We review some of the basic\ tenets of systems thinking and describe their differences from reductionist thinking. Furthermore, we a\ sk strategy scholars to widen their theoretical lens by (1) investigating co-evolutionary dynamics rather \ than focusing primarily on static models, (2) advancing processual insights rather than favoring causal identification, and (3) recognizing tipping point\ s and transformative change rather than assuming linear monotonic changes.

Keywords reductionist thinking, strategic management, systems thinking, wicked problems Introduction Current global social and environmental challenges, such as climate chan\ ge, biodiversity loss, and wealth inequality, will shape the future of societies and businesses alike. Failing to ad\ dress these *Sylvia Grewatsch and Steve Kennedy are both first authors.

Corresponding author:

Sylvia Grewatsch, Goodman School of Business, Brock University, 500 Glen\ ridge Ave., St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada.

Email: [email protected] 1038635 SOQ 0 0 10.1177/14761270211038635Strategic OrganizationGrewatsch et al.

research-article 2021 Essay 722 Strategic Organization 21(3) complex societal challenges could be catastrophic to economic and human \ prosperity (Steffen et al., 2015). These challenges are often called wicked problems (Rittel and Webber, 1973), because the elements are so interconnected that it is impossible to identify a s\ ingle cause or solution. The frequency and intensity of wicked problems are rising, as digital te\ chnologies and the mobility of people and things make the world increasingly interconnected\ and complex.

Furthermore, some wicked problems, such as inequality, resource scarcity, and waste accumula- tion, put further pressures on the system, which catalyzes further wicked problems in an endless cycle that is disrupting both business and society. Although contemporary strategy research builds on diverse literatures, m\ uch of it is grounded in economics, which seeks to develop parsimonious models of organizational actions (Barney, 1991; Williamson, 1991). Strategy scholars assume that an organization’s actions can be isolated from the highly dynamic, uncontrollable social-ecological systems in which the organization is embedded. They adopt deterministic thinking, rather than the probabilistic inferences characteris- tic of dynamic environments. To their credit, some strategy scholars have started to recognize the imp\ ortance of the macro environment in their scholarship (e.g. DesJardine and Durand, 2020; Fla\ mmer et al., 2021).

However, much of this research remains embedded in traditional reductionist thinking and masks the complexities and dynamics of wicked problems. These strategy scholars still model the context through regression analysis, and often depict their models through boxes\ and arrows. Strategy’s holy grail is a well-identified model to offer causal inferences. Such thinking is flawed not only because the macro context is dynamic, b\ ut also because firm growth is assumed to be unlimited in a world in which resources are cons\ trained. For example, a strat- egy scholar may seek to address the climate crisis by seeking to reduce \ firm-level carbon emissions (e.g. Lewandowski, 2017). Yet, even if all organizations reduced their emissions, the aggregated emis- sions could still exceed the targeted well below 2°degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels. We suggest that systems thinking will help strategy scholars more fully r\ ecognize and embrace the complexity involved in tackling wicked problems within the limits of\ planetary boundaries (Whiteman et al., 2013). This requires strategy scholars to recognize that wicked problems have n\ o clear boundaries, exhibit non-linear dynamics, and require new ways of t\ hinking. In recent years, systems thinking has experienced a resurgence in the wider community of organizational scholars. We join a growing chorus of scholars that are asking for new tools and approaches to analyze wicked problems and grand challenges (Howard-Gren\ ville and Lahneman, 2021; Jarzabkowski et al., 2016; Wasieleski et al., 2021). These calls challenge the cherished ideals of strategy, including capitalism, growth, and consumption, in order to inspire new\ ways of doing business that are more sensitive to and compatible with the natural envi\ ronment and society. We add to this growing dissent with strategy scholarship by advocating fo\ r systems thinking to supplement the reductionist approach to theorizing, traditionally applie\ d by strategy scholars. In this essay, we begin by providing a short overview of the history of systems think\ ing and its core principles. Then, we discuss the value of systems thinking to strategy scholars who \ study wicked problems, using climate change as an illustration.

The evolution of systems thinking in strategy and organization studies Systems thinking emerged in modern science in the 1920s (Capra, 1996). Organizational scholars such as Forrester (1961; system dynamics), Churchman (1968; systems approach), Ackoff (1971; purposeful systems), Jackson (1992; critical systems thinking), and C\ heckland (2000; soft systems Grewatsch et al. 723 methodology) were central to its development. Systems thinking was a na\ tural fit for studying organizational strategy and change (Ackoff, 1971), as scholars viewed organizations as “organ- isms” that both shape and are shaped by their environments (Dooley, 1997). Despite heavy early engagement, systems thinking did not take root in ma\ instream management studies, particularly strategic management research. Instead, systems th\ inking appeared in a domain seemingly independent of strategic management. Over time, it has \ been viewed as a theory, a paradigm, belief system, perspective, and a method (see Table 1). As a theory, systems thinking applies the ideas of General Systems theory, which seeks to unify all natural and social sciences in one grand conceptual model to replace\ the classical mechanical worldview in organization studies (Kast and Rosenzweig, 1972; Thayer, 1972; Von Bertalanffy, 1968). It aims to explain unrelated findings by exploring the interrela\ tionships between organiza- tions and the external environment. This approach peaked in the 1970s, but was not widely adopted, because it did not offer precise causal explanations with refutable hypotheses (Ashmos and H\ uber, 1987), making it empirically intractable in social sciences (Peery, 1972). The early failure of systems thinking to establish itself as a theory opened opportunities for other understandings of systems thinking, including as a new paradigm which is a set of assump- tions that give shape and meaning to the world and influence how issues \ are studied and interpreted (Gladwin et al., 1995). As a paradigm, systems thinking is broader in scope than a theory and ai\ ms at developing knowledge and coordinating actions across organizational disciplines (Pfeffer, 1993). Another interpretation of systems thinking is as a belief system which speaks to intentions and changes in behavior and mental models. This approach interprets problems as ways of seeing, thinking, and acting differently (Senge, 1990). To solve wicked problems, corporate and political decision-makers need to be influenced toward systematic changes. Specifi\ c tools, techniques, and Table 1. Different understandings of systems thinking.

Aspect Theory ParadigmBelief systemPerspective Method Description A theory of evolution that comprises everything and unifies all sciences A set of assumptions that give shape and meaning to the worldAn intuition or belief system to influence the mindsets of decision- makersA way of considering the mutual interplay between theory and practice A research method to explore different spatial and temporal levels of real-world problems to make research relevant Focus Providing a high level of abstraction to understand complex environments Shaping perceptions, inquiries, and data collected Seeing and experiencing systems Learning and engaging with practice Depicting and analyzing multi- level problems and projects Representative literature Kast and Rosenzweig (1972) Thayer (1972) Von Bertalanffy (1968) Ashmos and Huber (1987) Gladwin et al.

(1995) Forrester (1994) Meadows (2008) Senge (1990)Bansal and Song (2017) Checkland (2000) Williams et al.

(2017) Geels (2004) Hitt et al. (2007) Sterman (1994) 724 Strategic Organization 21(3) principles, such as Senge’s (1990) 11 laws of systems thinking reveal interdependencies and con- nections among subsystems across space and time. A similar interpretation is systems thinking as a perspective, which describes the mutual engage- ment between theory and practice to address situations of interest or ar\ eas of concern (Checkland, 2000). Such areas of concern can be problems in a particular discipline\ or broader real-world prob- lems, where systems thinking practices can preserve key elements of holi\ stic thinking. Instead of simply describing the world as a system, systems thinking as a perspecti\ ve examines how to deal with the world and how to define desirable and feasible actions (Checkl\ and and Scholes, 1990). Finally, systems thinking is also perceived as a method for conducting multi-level studies to better capture large-scale and complex problems. A wide variety of systems thinking methods exists, including system dynamics approaches (Forrester, 1994; Sterman, 1994), multi-level analy- sis (Hitt et al., 2007), and historical socio-technical studies (Geels, 2004). What unites them is the aim to develop explicit and complete models instead of providing guidanc\ e and solutions. These different understandings have hampered systems thinking from reaching acros\ s disci- plines, especially those disciplines predisposed to elegant solutions. Therefore, mainstream strat- egy scholars have resisted embracing the breadth of systems thinking, ev\ en though some of its elements have informed strategy-specific studies, such as contingency th\ eory (Kast and Rosenzweig, 1972), paradox theory (Bansal and Song, 2017; Jarzabkowski et al., 2019), dynamic capabilities (Teece, 2018), process studies (Langley et al., 2013), strategy as practice (Jarzabkowski et al., 2016), organizational adaptation (Howard-Grenville and Lahneman, 2021), and lea\ dership (Uhl- Bien and Arena, 2018). However, these approaches cherry-pick systems thinking concepts so that the power of systems thinking is not fully harnessed. Strategy scholarsh\ ip has an opportunity to develop more relational and holistic understandings of wicked problems a\ s we describe below.

Systems thinking principles Despite different interpretations of systems thinking, some core principles ground scholars who take this approach. Most of these are reflected in a complex adaptive sy\ stems perspective (Levin, 1998). Systems thinking adopts a relational view of the living world as\ a network of interconnected and interdependent relationships among elements that produce patterns of\ dynamic stability across temporal and spatial scales (Capra, 1996; Meadows, 2008). One’s observational perspective is central to understanding the system (Capra, 1996). For instance, a car\ is a system comprising inter - actions among various parts, such as the engine and wheels, which in tur\ n have their own internal relationships. By only examining the individual parts, the observer may \ have difficulty identifying whether the larger system is a car, truck, or bus. Only by understanding the nature of such relation- ships can observers appreciate network boundaries and may identify it as\ a car (Capra, 1996). Yet, most systems are open and interact with other systems, making the boundaries subject to interpretation (Von Bertalanffy, 1968). Open systems maintain structures but exchange materials, such as matter and energy, with other systems (Von Bertalanffy, 1968). For instance, the earth con- tinually receives shortwave radiation from the sun that can be absorbed \ to maintain stability in living systems and avoid a state of high entropy (Clayton and Radcliffe, 1996; Kast and Rosenzweig, 1972). Systems thinking recognizes that systems involving diverse yet i\ nseparable elements, including humans, non-humans, and the material world, co-create structur\ ed patterns of behavior and opportunities for system change (Whiteman and Kennedy, 2016). So, although systems bound- aries are porous, they can exhibit patterns that can be understood and i\ nfluenced. Systems thinking seeks to understand reality by studying interactions an\ d related properties— that is, how parts become an “integrated whole” (Capra, 1996: 36)\ . Through synthesis, reality is understood by examining how components fit and work together (Ackoff, 1974), thereby revealing Grewatsch et al. 725 the emergent properties that are born through dynamic interaction. Thus, systems may appear to be greater than the sum of their parts, as properties may not be readily explainable by examining com- ponents in isolation (Clayton and Radcliffe, 1996). Likewise, the performance of any component (e.g. a car engine) can only be explained in relation to the entire sy\ stem (i.e. the car; Ackoff, 1974). Systems thinking frames the world as a set of feedback loops or control mechanisms (Meadows, 2008). Through circular arrangements of casual connections, actions elicit resp\ onses that “feed back” to influence the original propagator (Capra, 1996; Meadows, 20\ 08). Organizational actions stimulate counteracting forces within a system which influence capabilit\ ies and shape understand- ings of which actions to take next. In this way, systems thinking frames the world as a hierarchy of nested systems (Simon, 1974).

Organizations are understood as embedded within society which in turn is s\ ituated within an ecol- ogy with biophysical limits, but without top-down control (Simon, 1974)\ . Higher order systems (e.g. laws or social conventions) are large, slow to change, and may constrain the behavior of lower order systems (e.g. a firm’s behavior; Holling, 2001). Lower order systems change quickly and enable higher order systems to emerge (i.e. individuals are necessary components of teams). Sub- systems are semi-autonomous, and their interactions and relationships between components are denser than those between hierarchical levels (Meadows, 2008). Systems thinking calls for examining dynamic movements to understand sys\ tem-level behavior over time (Meadows, 2008). Complex adaptive systems are continually ch\ anging, as variation and novelty are constantly emerging through autonomous self-organization (Levin, 1998). System dynamics are not stable, and behavior can be hard to predict due to chan\ ges in flows of materials and information, non-linear interactions, and components responding to s\ timulation in different ways at different times. Behavior is emergent as components constantly adapt and learn from experience. Systems change within domains of stability representing the range of pos\ sible states with the same basic structure, feedback loops, and functioning (Walker and Salt, 2012). Systems thinking calls us to recognize that systems may exist in alternate forms. When a system changes too much, it may enter a new domain with a different structure and new feedback loops between its compo- nents (Walker and Salt, 2012). Such transformations, termed regime shifts, may \ be desirable or undesirable for system actors (Gunderson, 2000). For instance, increas\ es in cattle grazing and low rainfall may cause a grass-dominant savanna to become shrub-dominant because fire, which restricts woody vegetation, cannot spread when grass levels are low (Walker and Salt, 2012).

Systems thinking calls us to consider how a system adapts in the face of\ change and unexpected disturbances to maintain its current state, and when it may transform to\ an alternate state in a new regime (Walker and Salt, 2012).

Differences between reductionist thinking and systems thinking Whereas reductionist thinking examines parts to understand the whole, sy\ stems thinking considers the context in which parts are embedded. The following examples illustrate the differences between reductionist thinking favored by strategy scholars and systems thinking.\ Simplicity versus complexity Reductionist thinking tends to seek static and narrow conceptions of cau\ sality to develop a model that parsimoniously reflects reality. To do so, strategy scholars often seek firm-level outcomes (e.g.

firm performance) and causal explanations, which are modeled through ar\ chival data, experiments, or surveys. Consequently, strategy scholars focus on proximate causal connections, which are 726 Strategic Organization 21(3) easier to identify, measure, and predict than more distal connections (Bansal and DesJard\ ine, 2014). Moreover, scholars who adopt methods that apply reductionist thinking stop searc\ hing for explanations once a cause with sufficient explanatory power is uncovered (Sterman, 2001). Due to an incomplete understanding of causal mechanisms, strategy scholars may \ fail to consider how multiple causal factors—and most importantly, their interaction effects—influence outcomes.

Systems thinking, instead, invites strategy scholars to explore dynamic \ interpretations of causal connections that may be distant in time and space (Senge, 1990), and t\ o consider how delays may create (in)stability within a system and how reactions may differ in the short and long terms.

Independence versus interconnectedness Reductionist thinking methods tend to divorce problems from their contex\ ts by studying them in isolation, thereby excluding potential synergies and tradeoffs. Reductionist thinking may make it difficult to consider interaction effects and important contextual factors when attempting to build valid and reliable causal models that predict single outcomes. For insta\ nce, “sustainable” products, services, and business models are perceived as innately desirable outcom\ es instead of understand- ing whether and how they may stimulate evolutionary dynamics at the indu\ stry level. Little atten- tion is paid to systemic issues of interconnectivity, such as rebound effects (e.g. more greenhouse gases are emitted elsewhere in the system), dependence on a problem’\ s continued existence (e.g.

selling medication for obesity), and how systems may become overly reli\ ant on a single firm (e.g.

depending on one provider of low-cost water filters to ensure safe drink\ ing water).

Firm level versus system level The scale of wicked problems and their dynamics are difficult to translate to the organizational context (Bansal, 2019). A reductionist approach devotes much attention to solving wicked prob- lems based on firm-level performance variables, assuming that improvemen\ ts to individual firm performance will innately create the change needed to tackle wicked problems. Yet, such perfor - mance indicators are disconnected from macro-level indicators of social-\ ecological system func- tioning (Whiteman et al., 2013) and ignore that seemingly progressive actions at the firm le\ vel may be insufficient. Systems thinking calls scholars to adopt multi-level understand\ ings of reality based on different hierarchies (Peery, 1972) and scales (Bansal et al., 2018). Rather than merely examin- ing direct dependent variables at the firm level, considering hierarchie\ s reveals a fuller understand- ing of how different subsystems contribute to the whole, and to shaping new conditions for environmental and social problems.

Implications of systems thinking to strategy scholarship We propose that systems thinking can help strategy scholars investigate co-evolutionary dynamics, advance processural insights, and recognize tipping points and transformative change of wicked problems. We illustrate our arguments using the wicked problem of climate change and associated extreme weather events, with tragic effects for businesses and society. Current strategy approaches to climate change typically focus on economic considerations, such as pr\ oduct-market competition (Busch and Hoffmann, 2011), process and innovation improvements (Kolk and Pinkse, 2005), or strategic responses (Slawinski and Bansal, 2012). These approaches to climate change ironically ignore the natural systems in which the firm is embedded. For instance, \ it is easy for reductionist approaches to strategy to overlook the interaction between organizational outcomes and weather Grewatsch et al. 727 events, which is contributing to the greater frequency and intensity of \ these weather events. The following three suggestions should help to address these shortcomings.

Investigate co-evolutionary dynamics Systems thinking invites strategic management research to widen their focus from the organization to accommodate a more macro perspective. Systems thinkers consider very \ deliberately the appro- priate boundaries for their research. So, in the study of climate change\ , systems thinkers would recognize the importance of capturing the dynamic interplay among firms,\ societal actors, and carbon accumulation in the atmosphere. By embracing these dynamics and t\ he interconnectivity between the social and biophysical environments, strategy scholars can d\ evelop broader under - standings of not only how individual firms’ actions affect climate change, but also how individual firms interact with others to shape what is to come. In other words, fir\ ms and the broader context in which they are embedded are interacting in a process of forever becom\ ing (Ingold, 2011; Whiteman and Kennedy, 2016). Strategic management research would then ask how corporate actions on climate change may stimulate or inhibit carbon transitions be\ yond the firm, and to link firm actions to change dynamics in industries and wider social-ecologica\ l systems (Waddock, 2020; Williams et al., 2021). By widening the focal lens from the organization to a system of organizations, new solutions come into view. Strategy research would investigate the solutions that lie between firms or within the larger industry or field. For instance, York et al. (2016) examined how the wind energy field in Colorado changed due to clashes between incompatible logics. Their findings reveal logic hybridi- zation within a field as an emergent process as actors trigger and respond to actions and generate outcomes that are difficult to predict. By re-drawing the boundaries of analysis, strategy studies can develop “\ ecologies” of solutions.

These ecologies are nudges that are consistent and coordinated to move t\ he system, rather than focusing on single levers of change or silver bullets. A systems thinking approach recognizes that industries change through co-evolutionary dynamics and multiple corporat\ e actions. Examining potential synergies and tradeoffs in regard to collective action may unlock strategic opportunities that are obscured by reductionist thinking. For instance, advancing hydrogen energy storage may not improve a firm’s own carbon footprint, yet may facilitate a surge in solar energy production.

Organizations, then, look to the future of where the industry is going, ra\ ther than remain locked into routines and path dependencies (Gümüsay and Reinecke, 2021)\ . This orientation facilitates new understandings of firm performance based on future long-term scenari\ os and collective outcomes. Important questions that systems thinkers could investigate that recognize the dynamics tha\ t yield such ecologies of solutions include how is the firm’s strategy impacting the climate system’s ability to self-organize? Moreover, how is the firm’s strategy impacting other actor’s capacity to reduce carbon emissions?

Advancing processual insights Strategy scholars commonly measure short-term effects between a firm’s carbon emissions and financial performance, which are easy to identify, measure, and predict (Bansal and DesJardine, 2014). Scholars such as Damert et al. (2017) have considered 5-year periods to examine “long- term effects” of strategies on firm-level financial performance and carbon e\ missions. Yet, climate change unfolds over a much longer time horizon (Bansal et al., 2018), as may large investments for decarbonization (e.g. bio-based chemicals). Systems thinking encourages scholars studying 728 Strategic Organization 21(3) climate change to analyze the unfolding of organizational- and individual-level behavior over longer time horizons, as well as their feedback effects and delayed outcomes. Systems thinking warns that focusing solely on firm actions and outcomes in the short term may neglect feedback effects in the longer term (Senge, 1990). For instance, corporate and in\ dustry- wide inactivity on climate change may seem profitable in the short term,\ but likely will have nega- tive effects in the long term. Wright and Nyberg (2017) effectively captured feedback effects in a process study of Australian corporations over a 10-year period. They showed how firms failed to embed climate strategy into organizational processes and thus were susceptible to investors’ calls to scale back efforts in order to maximize short-term profitability during an economic d\ ownturn. By unlocking process characteristics instead of measuring outcomes, stra\ tegic management research could provide insights on the underlying actions of corporate r\ esponses to climate change.

This requires considering a broader range of variables, including values\ , identity, and beliefs, which are often neglected in strategic models (Meadows, 2008). Such “\ soft” variables may inform the multiple root causes and patterns of firms resisting decarbonization\ , and reveal how firms can improve carbon emissions and their capacity to decarbonize in the future\ . Important questions to investigate with processual accounts of climate change include how d\ id a firm achieve its emission reduction targets? How can firms develop new, low-carbon operational routines and practices? How can firms form new identities to enable tran\ sformation?

Recognizing tipping points and transformative change Strategy scholars who study climate change typically conduct quantitativ\ e analyses of historical data and static parameters to develop explanations. Yet, the value of these studies is limited when the organizational environment is dynamic and the past is an unreliable predic\ tor of the future (Bansal, 2019). The climate does not remain in a fixed state. It undergoes constant, dynamic change associated with natural fluctuations and now unprecedented changes drive\ n by anthropogenic con- tributions to greenhouse gases. Firm activities contribute to climate ch\ ange and associated changes in the operating environment. Changes to physical risks (e.g. extreme w\ eather events) and societal pressure for decarbonization may alter industry dynamics, stimulating se\ lf-organization and the emergence of new behavior in ways that are hard to foresee (Waddock, 2020). Systems thinking asks strategy scholars to recognize slowly unfolding patterns of change \ within the climatic system, industry, and society to recommend responses for business action (Williams et al., 2021). It is critical for strategic management research to analyze how informat\ ion and materials flow and accumulate within and across subsystems to reveal previously hidden,\ non-linear spatial pat- terns and changes in system behavior. For instance, a coal company that is not investing in so- called “clean coal” solutions may be viewed as performing poorly on carbon reduction. Yet, this may mask its growing potential for transformative action through accumul\ ating the capabilities to switch to renewable energy that will enable it to completely forego coal as an energy source. In particular, strategy scholars need to generate understandings that firms, industri\ es, and the climate system may operate in radically altered states once constraint l\ imits and tipping points are transgressed (Lenton et al., 2009). Beyond such points, explanations of behavior based on histo\ ri- cal data have a little use as systems transform. Presently, few strategy studies connect firm behav- ior to thresholds of climatic systems, implicitly assuming that current \ equilibriums within systems will be maintained. Furthermore, it is important for strategy scholars t\ o adopt a future orientation in order to predict and imagine corporate behavior within alternate regimes (Gümüsay and Reinecke, 2021). Such work may encourage innovation and proactive trans\ formations of firms and industries to avoid catastrophic climate change (Whiteman and Kennedy, 2016). Grewatsch et al. 729 Important questions to study are how do corporate strategies on climate change help avoid cli- matic tipping points? How will corporate behavior change as threshold li\ mits are encroached?

How will business conditions and activities change in a new climatic reg\ ime?

Why strategy scholars need systems thinking now more than ever We believe that the willingness of strategy scholars to study wicked prob\ lems provides an oppor - tunity for systems thinking principles to become firmly established with\ in strategy studies. Thus far, strategy scholars have resisted systems thinking, perhaps because of t\ he power that comes with the elegance and parsimony of the economic assumptions on which strategy\ has been built. Systems thinking, however, comes in many flavors, ideas, and methods (Williams et al., 2017). It challenges the notion that researchers can only investigate the parts of the system (i.e. organizations) in order to understand the whole (i.e. wicked problems). It also questions some\ basic strategy assumptions, such as unlimited growth and endless resources. As well, the publication process that shapes success for strategy schola\ rs belies the approaches taken by systems thinkers (Kanashiro et al., 2020). Systems thinkers hesitate to describe simplified problems and solutions, yet editors and reviewers of strategy journals a\ re often looking for simplic- ity. Systems thinkers recognize that most outcomes, especially at more macr\ o level of analysis are unpredictable in the short term. Yet, most strategy journals seek significant solutions. Despite these challenges and hesitations, we believe that the current approach taken by strategic management in researching wicked problems may not only be incomplete, bu\ t potentially mislead- ing. We argue that it is time for strategy scholars to foreground systems thinking\ as a key approach to studying wicked problems. Systems thinking is not a panacea for solvi\ ng wicked problems, but it offers a different way of thinking and new insights to some of the most challenging \ issues that will shape business and human prosperity. Organizational and societal actions in this decade will conclusively deter\ mine whether oceans continue to rise, hundreds of species perish, and natural resources are depleted, or whether this planet remains livable for future generations. Significant, high-leverag\ e actions must be taken now to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The stakes are simply too high to con- tinue with strategy management research as usual.

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Paula Jarzabkowski in her clear and supportive editorial guidance and the two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments. In addition, they tha\ nk the writing club at the Department of Business-Society Management, Erasmus University, for their feedback o\ n earlier drafts of the essay.

Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorsh\ ip, and/or publication of this article.

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Author biographies Sylvia Grewatsch is an Assistant Professor at the Goodman School of Business, Brock Univ\ ersity, Canada.

Her research focuses on how organizations can tackle the world’s biggest socio-economic challenges through systems change emerging from social and technological innovations. Inspi\ red by her fieldwork as organiza- tional ethnographer, she is also interested in the encouragement of earl\ y-career organizational scholars for creating research impact. Therefore, she founded the Impact Scholar Community which includ\ es more than 600 members from across the world. Address: Goodman School of Business, \ Brock University, 500 Glenridge Ave., St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada [email: [email protected]] Steve Kennedy is an Associate Professor at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus Un\ iversity, The Netherlands. His research approaches how systems and resilience thinking can help organizations innovate to tackle grand societal challenges such as climate change and biodiversity\ loss. He is the Scientific Director of the Centre for Eco-Transformation and Academic Director of the MSc Globa\ l Business & Sustainability.

Address: Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam 3\ 062 PA, The Netherlands.

[email: [email protected]] Pratima (Tima) Bansal is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Business Sustainability at the Ivey Business School at Western University (Ontario). Tima was an Associate\ Editor and a Deputy Editor of the Academy of Management Journal for 6 years. During her tenure, she handled inductive, qualitative research.

She has also sat on 10 different editorial review boards in the past. He\ r research sits at the intersection of busi- ness strategy and sustainability, and has generated over 50 peer-reviewe\ d articles. She investigates the role of time, space, and scale in facilitating sustainable organizations. She is\ also deeply interested in co-creating knowledge with managers, having founded the Network for Business Sustain\ ability (www.nbs.net), a grow- ing network of over 35,000 followers from management research and practi\ ce, and the Ivey Innovation Learning Lab, which helps businesses create value for themselves and soc\ iety simultaneously over the long term. Address: Ivey Business School, Western University, London, ON N6A \ 3K7, Canada. [email: tbansal@ ivey.uwo.ca] Copyright ofStrategic Organization isthe property ofSage Publications Inc.anditscontent may notbecopied oremailed tomultiple sitesorposted toalistserv without thecopyright holder's expresswrittenpermission. However,usersmayprint, download, oremail articles for individual use.