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Like most work systems, the domain of adventure activities has seen a series of serious incidents and subsequent calls to improve regulation. Safety regulation systems aim to promote safety and reduce accidents. However, there is scant evidence they have led to improved safety outcomes. In fact there is some evidence that the poor integration of regulatory system components has led to adverse safety outcomes in some contexts. Despite this, there is an absence of methods for evaluating regulatory and compliance systems. This article argues that sociotechnical systems theory and methods provide a suitable framework for evaluating regulatory systems. This is demonstrated through an analysis of a recently introduced set of adventure activity regulations. Work Domain Analysis (WDA) was used to describe the regulatory system in terms of its functional purposes, values and priority measures, purpose-related functions, object-related processes and cognitive objects. This allowed judgement to be made on the nature of the new regulatory system and on the constraints that may impact its efficacy following implementation. Importantly, the analysis suggests that the new system's functional purpose of ensuring safe activities is not fully supported in terms of the functions and objects available to fulfil them. Potential improvements to the design of the system are discussed along with the implications for regulatory system design and evaluation across the safety critical domains generally., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

How do communications and decisions impact the safety of sociotechnical systems? This paper frames this question in the context of a dynamic system of nested sub-systems. Communications are related to the construct of observability (i.e. how components integrate information to assess the state with respect to local and global constraints). Decisions are related to the construct of controllability (i.e. how component sub-systems act to meet local and global safety goals). The safety dynamics of sociotechnical systems are evaluated as a function of the coupling between observability and controllability across multiple closed-loop components. Two very different domains (nuclear power and the limited service food industry) provide examples to illustrate how this framework might be applied. While the dynamical systems framework does not offer simple prescriptions for achieving safety, it does provide guides for exploring specific systems to consider the potential fit between organisational structures and work demands, and for generalising across different systems regarding how safety can be managed., Practitioner Summary: While offering no simple prescriptions about how to achieve safety in sociotechnical systems, this paper develops a theoretical framework based on dynamical systems theory as a practical guide for generalising from basic research to work domains and for generalising across alternative work domains to better understand how patterns of communication and decision-making impact system safety.

This article explores how a re-interpretation of the socio-technical, socioecological and transition design approaches to transition from the point of view of Niklas Luhmann's general systems theory of society. The need to understand and promote changes that include a technological and ecological dimension has led to different approaches, such as socio-technical or socio-environmental approaches, to incorporate links with society. While these approaches often include sociological insights, they rarely offer a general understanding of how these are embedded into society. We need a new environmental sociology that helps catalyze change processes with a collectively reorganized society, empowering more radically transformative actions to change the current structures and processes that have led us to where we are today. The article offers a cross-sectional look at the socio-ecological and socio-technical systems literature, specifically for what concerns their understanding of the 'systems' in transition and how they can be governed, and re-interpret it from the theoretical lens of the deep sociological knowledge, which refers to the profound understanding of social systems and their dynamics, embedded in Luhmann's theory of social systems. From here, we suggest the second-order coupling for a sociologically grounded understanding of the interactions that comprise socio-ecological and socio-technical systems, heterogeneous and almost self-organizing assemblies of social, technical, and natural elements and processes. At the same time, third-order couplings are analyzed, focused on governance, relationships between operations, and structures mediated by a deliberate attempt to ensure coherence and coordination against the autonomy and heterogeneity of socio-techno-ecological systems. Therefore, this manuscript offers a deeper conceptual and methodological understanding of socio-techno-ecological couplings and systems in the context of sustainability transformation and gives insights into its governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the criteria for evaluating human–chatbot collaboration in customer service using the socio-technical systems theory. Interviews with 28 customer service managers, conversational designers, and human agents revealed their evaluation criteria diverged. Managers prioritized the chatbot's technical capabilities and preferred a standalone customer service chatbot, while conversational designers prioritized the social aspect, focusing on the chatbot as a support tool for human agents and customers. Human agents mainly evaluated the chatbot as a means to increase job satisfaction. These distinct criteria highlight the importance of an aligned approach in human–chatbot collaboration. To improve this collaboration, integrating the chatbot into customer data systems was suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study makes a case for why the field of political ecology (PE) would benefit from deep engagement with technological power, and exemplifies this within the domain of energy studies and the ongoing transformation of the energy sector. Technology is not among the core interests or traditional topics of PE--and is therefore often disregarded or treated as a black box. The argument presented in this study asserts that this omission undermines the analytical power and the relevance of the field. Technology is the central mechanism whereby socionatures evolve and how relationships are negotiated and enacted. The attitude towards technical things is partly based on the idea that technologies are just artefacts of little interest. Cross-field dialogue is also hindered by perceived ontological conflicts. This study draws upon research from the philosophy of technology and sociotechnical systems theory to introduce a dynamic understanding of technological power. Seeing what technology does and has the potential to do requires looking beyond the common emphasis on dominance and control, to the myriad ways in which technologies shape our everyday lives, ontologies, and imagining of the future. Taking on a contentious concept, I advocate for the use of "systems" as a boundary object suitable for cross-field dialogue. As an analytical construct without inherent scale, it works as a framing device for moving power and knowledge claims to the forefront, while also allowing dialogue outside academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business analytics is considered in research and practice as a promising approach to support organizations in the increasing complexity and dynamics in the strategic planning and decision making, which arise for example through the integration of product-service systems. However, literature is lacking a comprehensive analysis to what extant business analytics supports the strategic planning and decision making. Thus, coming from the affordance and socio-technical system theory, we are linking business analytics affordances to strategic planning outcomes. In doing so, we identified 20 affordances which we have assigned to the dimensions of the socio-technology system theory. Based on this, we have derived implications and propositions for research and practice. The results can be used as guidelines for practice and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While systems engineers and philosophers of technology have analysed failure in artefacts, the nature of failure in sociotechnical systems has been largely underdeveloped. Sociotechnical systems differ from artefacts in that they are made up of relationships between people and technologies, and this difference means that failure needs a different analysis. In this article, we provide an account of two kinds of malfunctioning in sociotechnical systems. To accomplish this, we draw on resources from the disciplines of Human Factors, Systems Engineering, and Philosophy of Technology. We offer an account of two kinds of malfunction that are not only dependent on functions but also on roles of people involved in the functioning of sociotechnical systems. Hence, we aim to broaden the discourse of malfunctions in sociotechnical systems in terms of relations (relational roles). Primarily, we address two roles of users and operators and show how these different roles involve different kinds of malfunctions. Specifically, we highlight that two kinds of malfunctions can occur in sociotechnical systems: ambiguity-based failure and expectation-based failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes progressively more engaged with society, its shift from technical tool to participating in society raises questions about AI personhood. Drawing upon developmental psychology and systems theory, a mediating structure for AI proto‐personhood is defined analogous to an early stage of human development. The proposed AI bridges technical, psychological, and theological perspectives on near‐future AI and is structured by its hardware, software, computational, and sociotechnical systems through which it experiences its world as embodied (even for putatively disembodied AI). Further social and moral construction can occur building upon a simple "self" for AI synthesized from symbolic and statistical approaches to AI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of emerging climate change trends, businesses and organizations are becoming more concerned about environmental sustainability. In this context, green supply chain management (GSCM) approaches are expanding globally. Based on institutional and sociotechnical systems theory, the conceptual model of this research highlights a mediation of two GSCM types, namely technological and behavioral practices, as well as the moderation of organizational pressure on institutional performance. The hypotheses were evaluated using the structural equation modeling (SEM) method, obtaining data from 563 Chinese firms. This study's categorization of technological and behavioral GSCM practices and results add to the literature on GSCM. The empirical findings indicate that the technological GSCM practices considerably affect behavioral practices. Moreover, GSCM technological and behavioral practices have a substantial effect on institutional performance. GSCM behavioral practices mediate the link between technological GSCM practices and institutional performance. The outcomes also reveal that organizational pressure moderates the association between GSCM technological GSCM practices and institutional performance. These results show that companies in emerging economies should prioritize the behavioral GSCM practices to successfully apply the technological GSCM practices to achieve compelling financial, social, and environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As major disasters vary in both severity and incidence, making appropriate humanitarian responses critical, disaster relief supply chains increasingly incorporate both social and technical aspects into their operations. Power relations and their implications appear to have been overlooked in existing research into humanitarian supply chain management systems; thus, this research examines the extent to which power influences the decision-making process of the purchasing function. We use socio-technical systems theory to uncover the role of power in this context. As a result of this research, a new framework is developed to provide a concise yet holistic approach to understanding power using a real-life case study from the humanitarian realm. The outcomes suggest that local culture can determine power relations in disaster relief operations via vested interests and lobbying with foreign donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interactions among distinct systems and components have attracted more attention recently due to safety concerns. Indeed, modern industrial plants could be regarded as complex socio-technical systems influenced by human, social, and organizational aspects. To model this level of complexity, System Theory (ST) and related frameworks, such as System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) have been introduced. Despite their strengths and abilities, ST techniques are mainly qualitative and provide much information, eventually complicated to analyse and summarize. Fuzzy Set Theory (FST) and expert elicitation could be employed to cope with the former challenges. However, addressing the uncertainty arising from differences in expert opinions is necessary. To this end, this paper aims to develop a framework to conduct system safety assessments based on the integration of STAMP and FST. In this context, an improved version of the Similarity Aggregation Method is adopted to aggregate judgments. To demonstrate the application of the approach, a Natural Gas Regulating and Metering Station (NGRMS) is considered as the case study. The results show that the methodology is able to provide quantitative information by associating a level of criticality with each control action. Accordingly, managers could exploit the framework to identify priorities for directing efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last thirty years, suggestions for how to develop defence capability have developed rapidly. However, supporting theory and structured concept development lag behind. Despite this imbalance, countries need to continuously spend resources on defence development. This study identifies central challenges in relation to the scientific perspectives and approaches needed to support the development of defence capability. The results show that the support for developing interactions between technology and social components is especially weak and that relevant supporting theories and methods from related fields are not considered. This study also shows that it is important to be able to address these questions from various perspectives and not to be limited by a specific scientific tradition. Finally, this study also identifies a possible emerging cluster of reports on capability-related research that provide a base for a much-needed cross-disciplinary approach to the development of defence capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exponential progress of AI systems today compels scientists and philosophers to redefine their conceptual frameworks to better understand the nature of these new technologies and their moral status. Among the various theories that are used to respond to the challenges posed by intelligent systems are instrumentalism, Socio-technical Systems Theory (STST) and Mediation Theory (MT), all widely adopted in the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). This paper intends to present the main features of these theories and provide a comparative analysis of them in order to assess their contribution to the process of understanding the moral status of artificial intelligence. Our investigation intends to show how (1) instrumentalism is inadequate to account for the moral status of AI, (2) STST, while helping to highlight the link between AI, society and morality, lends itself to the criticism of anthropocentrism, (3) MT in its Latourian version has the merit of highlighting the active character of technological artefacts and thus of artificial intelligence in the moral sphere. However, the principle of symmetry it proposes poses the problem of the de-accountability of the human agent. (4) MT in its postphenomenological form seems to partially resolve the problem of moral responsibility, but the opacity of the terminology it employs exposes it to various criticisms. In light of these results, we intend to show how an understanding of the moral status of intelligent systems cannot be based on the diametrically opposed positions that consider technologies either morally neutral or else moral agents similar to humans, whereas particularly useful elements can be found in STST and in postphenomenological MT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims at examining how different types of shop floor performance feedback affect employee motivation and engagement. Based on this dataset, the authors analyzed the relationship between five types of performance feedback (safety, quality, productivity, improvement and individual performance) and three types of human-related outputs (motivation, role clarity and engagement) in light of socio-technical systems theory. Design/methodology/approach: The authors designed a survey instrument and collected data from 492 employees of a large beverage distribution company. The authors used robust construct validity tests and multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses. Findings: The findings indicated significant positive effects of feedback on overall production, improvements and individual performance on all human-related outputs. In turn, safety and quality performance feedback had no statistically significant impact in motivation or engagement. These findings highlight the mixed nature of the impact of performance feedback on human-related outputs that have been neglected in the literature. Originality/value: The joint analysis of the social and technical portion of performance feedback is unusual despite its clear relevance, which characterizes an original contribution of the authors' work. Although previous literature supports the effect of performance feedback on motivation and engagement, previous studies have not tested how different types of feedback affect those social constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resilience of building structures—as plain technical/physical/engineering systems or complex sociotechnical systems exposed to perturbations and change—has become increasingly important as natural disasters are on the rise and the world is changing rapidly. Existing resilience frameworks are focused mainly on the responses of building systems to perturbation events and their functional recovery, while change appears to be left out. This study applies the resilience system interpretation framework, which defines resilience in a cross-disciplinary environment as adaptation and adaptive systems, to analyze actual and conceptual building structure systems. The system framework, using modern control systems theory, defines resilience as the ability of the system state and form to return to their initial or other suitable states or forms through passive and active feedback mechanisms. A sample SMRF office building structure system is utilized to simulate the system state and form return abilities that are demonstrated by the system functional recovery time and functional recovery curve shape, respectively. This novel understanding of resilience accommodates a holistic and systematic integration of both perturbation and change in the portfolios of various building structures. The framework also provides a practical roadmap for resilience design and building of structures that effectively respond to perturbation while dynamically adapting to change in order to avoid obsolescence, as well as to increase the building's useful life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article aims to explore the factors influencing patients' distrust toward doctors in online health community. Design/methodology/approach: This study leveraged the distrust construct model and socio-technical systems theory to establish a research model. The authors used the survey method to validate the research model by developing and distributing questionnaires to online health community users. 518 valid responses were collected. Findings: The data analysis results showed that patients' distrusting beliefs were significantly related to their distrust toward doctors in online health communities. Meanwhile, social factors included perceived egoism and lack of expertise; whereas technical factors included no structural assurance, and lack of third-party recognition. Originality/value: This study not only provides a solid and comprehensive theoretical understanding of patient distrust toward doctors in online health communities but also could serve as the basis to relieve the distrust between patients and doctors in online health communities, or even in the offline environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Specific Systems Theory (STS) proposes a system definition that describes them precisely based on six postulates that establish the sufficient and necessary elements for some real entity to be a system. This contradicts and rejects the traditional definition of Bertalanffy (1968), which mentions that a system is a conglomerate of interacting components. Based on the definition of system that is the main foundation of STS, the various types of social systems, which have been scarcely studied, are analyzed in this study. The literature that exists in this regard is abundant in arguments about their behavior, but all the arguments generated have been developed based on various concepts that have no relation to their systemic properties. In this work, social systems are analyzed from the perspective of their systemic characteristics, their systemic nature and their systemic properties. The definition of system that supports STS makes it possible to clearly and easily understand how social systems work and explain their behavior as systems and not simply as societies, which is the inadequate approach that has been used to discuss them until now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Irrigation System Management (ISM) poses many issues in terms of social and technical aspects. These can be further elaborated as the issues toward the efficiency of infrastructure, equity of water sharing, environmental integrity and economic acceptability. Water losses and the structural changes of the system caused many issues putting the irrigation system into distress. Hence, this urges the need for sustainable ISM to improve social and technical attributes in ISM. This paper aims to apply the Socio-Technical Systems (STSs) theory for sustainable ISM. Design/methodology/approach: The qualitative expert opinion survey method was selected as the research strategy to approach the research aim. Sixteen industry professionals in the ISM sector were selected through the purposive sampling method to conduct semi-structured interviews to collect data in the Sri Lankan context. Code-based content analysis through a directed approach was used to analyse the data. Findings: Four main categories of strategies were emerged from the research findings as "engineering strategies", "operational strategies", "management strategies" and "regulatory strategies" through STS approach for sustainable ISM. The STS framework was developed by combining engineering and operational strategies into the technical subsystem and the management and regulatory strategies into the social subsystem to approach the aim of achieving contemporary system management in irrigation in a sustainable manner. Originality/value: The research revealed the links between the strategies emerged from various disciplines to minimise the issues in ISM from the perspectives of technical and social subsystems. The study contributes to knowledge by providing a framework for sustainable ISM by applying the socio-technical systems theory by integrating the concepts of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is on the rise. To help advance research in this area, the authors synthesise the academic research and develop research propositions on the antecedents and consequences of AI adoption and application in the workplace to guide future research. The authors also present AI research in the socio-technical system context to provide a springboard for new research to fill the knowledge gap of the adoption and application of AI in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: This paper summarises the existing literature and builds a theoretically grounded conceptual framework on the socio-technical system theory that captures the essence of the impact of AI in the workplace. Findings: The antecedents of AI adoption and application include personnel subsystem, technical subsystem, organisational structure subsystem and environmental factors. The consequences of AI adoption and application include individual, organisational and employment-related outcomes. Practical implications: A research agenda is provided to identify and discuss future research that comprises not only insightful theoretical contributions but also practical implications. A greater understanding of AI adoption from socio-technical system perspective will enable managers and practitioners to develop effective AI adoption strategies, enhance employees' work experience and achieve competitive advantage for organisations. Originality/value: Drawing on the socio-technical system theory, the proposed conceptual framework provides a comprehensive understanding of the antecedents and consequences of AI adoption and application in the work environment. The authors discuss the main contributions to theory and practice, along with potential future research directions of AI in the workplace related to three key themes at the individual, organisational and employment level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In systems thinking, when applied to project management, various strategies like system redundancy, process decentralization, and alternative technologies that contribute to increasing construction project resilience to risk factors as systems are kept in perspective. Selecting optimal strategies requires developing effective quantitative methods to assess their effectiveness and enhance project resilience as a system. This paper presents a considerable enhancement of previous proposals that utilized heterogenous network theory by a proactive approach to project planning and proposes a method for selecting strategies of enhancing the resilience of projects as systems, namely alternative organization, cooperation, and task sequence change. The method was demonstrated on a specific construction project case, illustrating its applicative potential and indicating that the strategy can be effective. The universality of the proposed approach allows it to be applied in investigating the resilience to risk factors of other complex sociotechnical systems oriented towards process performance. • A quantitative approach to analysing emergent properties of complex systems. • Modelling and analysis of construction projects using metanetwork theory. • Monte Carlo simulation in the assessment of system resilience to risk factors. • Proposes strategies of enhancing construction project resilience as a system. • Optimal resilience strategy selection using tabu search metaheuristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the systems approach to accident analysis being the dominant research paradigm and the concept of SMS being introduced in high-risk industries already for several years, accident investigation practice is still poor in analysing the basic elements that compose a safety management system (SMS) and in embracing system theory. In search of a systemic method for accident analysis that is easily applicable and less resource demanding than the actual methods, Accou and Reniers (2019) developed the SAfety FRactal ANalysis (SAFRAN) method. The method, which is based on the principles of an SMS with resilience as the explicit safety strategy, aims at finding a good balance between examining the complexity of a socio-technical system and making optimal use of limited resources and people; factors that often restrict the possibility for in-depth analysis of accidents. A series of practical tests, often involving active accident investigators, made it possible to examine and validate the SAFRAN method against the criteria Underwood (2013) developed to evaluate systemic accident analysis methods. Based on the performed evaluation, which includes elements related to the development of the method as well as system approach and usability characteristics, the study concludes that, when it comes to applying a systems approach to accident analysis and with the aim of creating more sustainable and resilient performance, the current investigation practice could gain from having the SAFRAN method as part of the investigation toolkit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer-to-peer sharing accommodation commerce has witnessed unprecedented rapid development in recent years, which relies much on the contribution of service providers who largely control the servicescapes by providing both housing assets and relevant services. Differentiating from customers' perspective in most previous studies, we focus on the behaviour intentions and explore the influence mechanism from the perspective of service providers. Based on the socio-technical systems theory, the results show that the technical enabler (perceived usefulness) and social enablers (perceived control, perceived familiarity, and self-investment) positively affect service providers' attitude towards platform use and further influence their behaviour intentions (namely, online interacting intention and willingness to charge a lower price). Besides, the existence of offline interaction between service providers and customers counter-intuitively weakens the positive effect of service providers' attitude toward platform use on their behavioural intentions. The research is of particular interest to the industry platform managers by showing why they need to concern about providers' performance and how they can boost providers' better usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post mortem incident investigations are vital to prevent the occurrence of similar events and improve system safety. The increasing interactions of technical, human and organizational elements in modern systems pose new challenges for safety management, demanding approaches capable of complementing techno-centric investigations with social-oriented analyses. Hence, traditional risk analysis methods rooted in event-chain reactions and looking for individual points of failure are increasingly inadequate to deal with system-wide investigations. They normally focus on an oversimplified analysis of how work was expected to be conducted, rather than exploring what exactly occurred among the involved agents. Therefore, a detailed analysis of incidents beyond the immediate failures extending towards socio-technical threats is necessary. This study adopts the system-theoretic accident model and process (STAMP) and its nested accident analysis technique, i.e., causal analysis based on systems theory (CAST), to propose a causal incident analysis in the railway industry. The study proposes a hierarchical safety control structure, along with system-level safety constraints, and detailed investigations of the system's components with the purpose of identifying physical and organizational safety requirements and safety recommendations. The analysis is contextualized in the demonstrative use of a railway case. In particular, the analysis is instantiated for a 2011 incident in the United Kingdom (UK) railway system. Hence, the CAST technique requires information regarding incidents, facts and processes. Therefore, the case study under analysis provided the information to analyze the accidents based on system theory, in which the results of the analysis prove the benefits of a CAST application to highlight criticalities at both element- and system-level, spanning from component failure to organizational and maintenance planning, enhancing safety performance in normal work practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Crowdsourcing food delivery represents great potential for future development and expansion of the restaurant business. Accordingly, job performance and retention of delivery workers are critical for success. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate how to enhance crowdsourced delivery workers' job performance and intent to continue working by applying the sociotechnical systems theory. Design/methodology/approach: The data analysis was conducted using responses obtained from crowdsourced food delivery workers. A structural equation model was developed to verify the hypothesized relationships. To test the proposed moderating roles of a three-dimensional concept of social capital within the research model, multi-group analyses were implemented. Findings: This study confirmed the significant relationships between crowdsourcing risks related to workers' low job commitment and technical systems, attributing to reduced job performance and intent to continue working. Results documented that social systems including networks, trust and shared vision mitigated the negative impact of the perceived difficulty and complexity of technical systems and job performance. Originality/value: Although technology has contributed significantly to the effectiveness of online food delivery, the literature has mainly focused on its benefits and has ignored the critical aspects derived from a virtual and technology-based workplace. This gap was addressed by verifying the important roles of social factors (networks, trust and shared visions) in reducing the negative impacts of technology-driven risks (perceived difficulty of task requirements and technology complexity) within the crowdsourcing food delivery context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the role of lean and Six Sigma practitioners in organizations, specifically whether they focus on the technical or social aspects of the organization, or both. According to sociotechnical system theory, it is important to manage both the social and technical systems effectively in order to fully benefit from implementing lean and Six Sigma methods. While these approaches come with technical tools, they also address some parts of the social side, such as lean's respect for people principle. The article also includes three feature articles on topics related to the application of lean and Six Sigma, including a case study on cross-functional problem solving, improving the failure mode and effects analysis process, and using digital transformation tools for innovation. [Extracted from the article]

In this study, we identify bundles of technologies and associated implementation barriers that could be viewed as part of Healthcare 4.0 (H4.0) and test their impact on performance improvement in a sample of hospitals. For that, we carried out a cross-sectional study with 181 leaders from hospitals in different countries that have already started H4.0 implementation. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate statistical techniques. Results indicate that H4.0 technologies could be organized into two different bundles according to their role within the hospital. Common barriers to H4.0 implementation were also empirically organized in two groups, following the sociotechnical systems theory. Bundles of H4.0 technologies presented a positive and significant effect on hospitals' performance. As their interaction with H4.0 barriers displayed a significant effect on performance improvement, it is important to concurrently consider H4.0 technologies and barriers. Our results allow hospital managers to anticipate potential issues in H4.0 implementation, enabling more assertive efforts to improve performance and deliver high-quality and low-cost care in the fourth industrial revolution era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative human–machine interaction will be progressively intensified in industrial applications. The aim of this article is to examine current approaches to cobot safety by showing that these approaches can additionally benefit from systems thinking methods. The first part of this article covers a narrative literature review on predominantly techno‐centric robot safety approaches, with a strong focus on containing kinetic energy and ensuring separation with humans. The second part introduces systems thinking methods to analyze a socio‐technical perspective on cobot safety, including joint cognitive systems and distributed cognition perspectives. This explorative research dimension is expected to overcome an overly narrow interpretation of safety issues, anticipating the challenges ahead in ever more complex cobot applications. This article embraces a socio‐technical perspective to explore the potential of Joint Cognitive Systems to manage risk and safety in cobot applications. Three systemic safety analysis approaches are presented and tested with a demonstrator case study concerning their feasibility for cobot applications: System‐Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP); Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM); and Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST). These methods each provide interesting extensions to complement the traditional understanding of risk as required by current and future industrial cobot implementations. The power of systemic methods for safer and more efficient cobot operations lies in revealing the distributed and emergent result from joint actions and overcoming the reductionist view from individual failures or single agent responsibilities. The safe operation of cobot applications can only be achieved through alignment of design, training, and operation of such applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides a holistic view of the acceptance of collaborative robots (cobots) in the manufacturing context by adopting the socio-technical perspective to the Industry 5.0 era. Grounding on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Socio-Technical Systems theory (STS), this study proposes a conceptual model to better understanding critical factors that influence the acceptance of cobots and how these factors can drive perceived work performance improvement in the organizational level. This study was conducted by catching the critical issue, reviewing the literature on the subject of this study, identifying previous research gaps, and subsequently developing constructs of the model. As a result, this study offers valuable contributions to robotics and manufacturing literature and further suggests empirical research to generally examine and validate the conceptual model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major accidents continue to happen in the process industry and often have serious consequences. There are questions on how these accidents happen and how we can monitor safety in a process plant to prevent these accidents from happening. The possibility of measuring the safety level in a process plant is very compelling and different approaches using key performing indicators (leading and lagging indicators with some metrics) have been proposed. The industry has evolved towards a complex sociotechnical environment where the traditional accident causation models used that try to explain how and why accidents happen are no longer valid (or at least are not the fittest option) to analyse these complex systems. New accident models have been developed lately trying to cope with the complexity of new industrial systems. These (relatively) new systemic models have their roots in systems theory. In this work, a novel methodology is presented to measure safety level in a process plant using a systemic approach. The systemic model used in this work is Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP). The measurement of the safety level is done according to the status of safety checkpoints which is a new concept introduced in this work. A safety checkpoint is a requirement defined to prevent a loss scenario to happen or to satisfy safety measures associated to the loss scenario. The outcome of the analysis obtained with this methodology can be presented in different ways to help management to make informed risk-based decisions and take the actions needed to prevent accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Leaders within local government organizations do not understand how to achieve expected and desired benefits from the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The lack of alignment between social and technical elements in ERP implementation continues to depress organizational productivity. The prime objective of our quantitative correlational study was to examine whether social and technical elements increase use and productivity in ERP implementation. Sociotechnical systems theory provided the theoretical basis for our study. We examined six dimensional variables relating to ERP implementation. Our key findings indicated positive significant relationships between ERP and information sharing, between ERP system quality and ease of ERP use, and between ERP system quality and organizational productivity. Further studies could examine other dimensions that could ensure ERP sustainability in other government organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial organizations are responding to new risks and opportunities originating from exponentially growing and disruptive digital technologies, by taking company-wide digital transformation initiatives. However, the key enablers of such digital transformation initiatives that facilitate operational performance outcomes in industrial organizations demand further investigation. Therefore, drawing on the sociotechnical system theory (STS), the objective of this study is to explore the digital transformation enablers and their impact on performance outcomes. Research data was collected from four leading industrial organizations that engaged in digital transformation programmes. Our results indicate that leadership, structures, and culture are the key enablers of digital transformation that help industrial organizations to achieve performance outcomes (i.e. collaboration, customer-centricity, and agility). By providing an empirically grounded integrated framework with future research propositions, this study contributes to the existing literature on digital transformation and sociotechnical system theory. MAD statement This article aims to make a difference by exploring industrial digital transformation in order to identify the key enablers and performance outcomes. We highlight the need for alignment and joint optimization of social and technical systems to effectively capitalize on the digital transformation initiatives. Moreover, we call for urgent attention to the development of leaders, as well as the further identification of supportive digital transformation leadership competencies. Competent leaders assume a central role in correcting outdated and invalid assumptions, conceptualizing new ideas, and reinforcing cultural values. Furthermore, we elaborate the necessity of cultural transformation in industrial organizations for impactful digital transformation. Lastly, our findings confirm the significance of organizational structure in digital transformation and simultaneously warn that too little is happening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) Programme was designed to promote the digitisation of hospital services in England. Selected provider organisations that were reasonably digitally-mature were funded with the expectation that they would achieve internationally recognised levels of excellence and act as exemplars ('GDE sites') and share their learning with somewhat less digitally-mature Fast Follower (FF) sites. Aims: This paper explores how partnerships between GDE and FF sites have promoted knowledge sharing and learning between organisations. Methods: We conducted an independent qualitative longitudinal evaluation of the GDE Programme, collecting data across 36 provider organisations (including acute, mental health and speciality), 12 of which we studied as in-depth ethnographic case studies. We used a combination of semi-structured interviews with programme leads, vendors and national policy leads, non-participant observations of meetings and workshops, and analysed national and local documents. This allowed us to explore both how inter-organisational learning and knowledge sharing was planned, and how it played out in practice. Thematic qualitative analysis, combining findings from diverse data sources, was facilitated by NVivo 11 and drew on sociotechnical systems theory. Results: Formally established GDE and FF partnerships were perceived to enhance learning and accelerate adoption of technologies in most pairings. They were seen to be most successful where they had encouraged, and were supported by, informal knowledge networking, driven by the mutual benefits of information sharing. Informal networking was enhanced where the benefits were maximised (for example where paired sites had implemented the same technological system) and networking costs minimised (for example by geographical proximity, prior links and institutional alignment). Although the intervention anticipated uni-directional learning between exemplar sites and 'followers', in most cases we observed a two-way flow of information, with GDEs also learning from FFs, through informal networking which also extended to other health service providers outside the Programme. The efforts of the GDE Programme to establish a learning ecosystem has enhanced the profile of shared learning within the NHS. Conclusions: Inter-organisational partnerships have produced significant gains for both follower (FF) and exemplar (GDE) sites. Formal linkages were most effective where they had facilitated, and were supported by, informal networking. Informal networking was driven by the mutual benefits of information sharing and was optimised where sites were well aligned in terms of technology, geography and culture. Misalignments that created barriers to networking between organisations in a few cases were attributed to inappropriate choice of partners. Policy makers seeking to promote learning through centrally directed mechanisms need to create a framework that enables networking and informal knowledge transfer, allowing local organisations to develop bottom-up collaboration and exchanges, where they are productive, in an organic manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Union's Green Deal is a legal obligation to EU countries to shift towards environment-friendly energy systems from fossil-fuel-based systems. This transition will bring significant global health benefits by combating climate change, but it is crucial to understand the so far understudied impacts on local communities' lives and, thus, on their health and well-being. The study proposes a novel conceptual framework based on socio-technical systems theory and the production of space theory to identify the interacting points between energy systems and health and well-being systems in the energy transition context. This framework is tested in Estonia's transitioning fossil fuel oil-shale-based energy system based on four focus group discussions, ten expert interviews, and document analysis. We innovatively pinpoint pathways, including feedback loops, through a causal loop diagram (CLD) impacting inhabitants' health and well-being from the interplay between energy and health and well-being systems. The analysis indicates that protecting and promoting health and well-being has been a challenge not only due to disruption created by the energy transition process but also due to the accumulated problems regarding socioeconomic conditions, environmental health impacts, and well-being at the local level. The compound effects of multiple existing and emerging issues, including the divergent interpretations of health and the lack of holistic support mechanisms for inhabitants to navigate the changes in sociocultural and economic space, can harm locals' health and well-being. The developed conceptual framework provides an important theoretical background to study the impacts on the mental and physical health, including social health and well-being, of the inhabitants living in the fossil-fuel-based industrial area. The CLD developed using this framework demonstrates the interacting points to avoid unintended consequences of energy transition. • Study assesses EU's energy transition impact on local health and well-being. • CLD shows the impact on inhabitants' health and well-being. • Low adaptability to socioeconomic changes creates uncertainties among inhabitants. • Local contextualized knowledge is needed in global sustainability efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence synthesis software has been developed to facilitate the conduct of systematic reviews. However, social work researchers may be unfamiliar with the range of software options available and unsure whether their evidence synthesis goals are best served by existing software. Evidence synthesis software can assist with organizing and monitoring the systematic review process and automating specific tasks, such as selecting studies and extracting data. Although automation of systematic review tasks is increasingly popular, evidence synthesists may not have considered the potential biases that can be introduced through the increased reliance on automated features. In light of the changing social and technical contexts of evidence synthesis, we provide a model of evidence synthesis for research teams to use collaboratively to assess how evidence synthesis software can facilitate the conduct of systematic reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seemingly erratic pedestrian crossing has become a major source of vehicle-pedestrian collisions on highways in Bangladesh, and across other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this article, we approach the challenge from a sociotechnical systems perspective by using the Accimap method to analyse a pair of time-separated yet interconnected road traffic collisions. The first event involved a truck colliding with a road divider; in the second, fatal incident, a bus hit a university student. The traditional-style investigation conducted immediately after the collision apportioned blame to end users, that is, drivers and pedestrian; however, application of sociotechnical systems thinking revealed the contribution from lack of emergency response and enforcement among many other important factors. Results and recommendations are discussed in terms of reducing the chance and severity of such collisions across LMICs, and in terms of the need to look beyond the end-user, a focus that remains dominant in such settings. Practitioner summary: This paper applies sociotechnical systems thinking to pedestrian safety in Bangladesh by analysing two inter-connected road traffic collisions using a single Accimap. The findings emphasise the importance of implementing road safety interventions that target all system levels, and draw attention to the importance of post-collision response in low-income settings. Abbreviation: BUET: Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior advances in systems engineering (SE) theory were instrumental in defining the discipline and its tools, but are limited in perspective. The SE community needs new theoretical advances to address its existing and emerging sociotechnical challenges. This communication paper is a product of an NSF/SERC/INCOSE funded workshop on theory building in SE with a focus on the use of abstraction and elaboration. The overarching goals of the workshop were twofold. First, to illustrate the nuances and complexities of the theory building process with an emphasis on developing theory about the SE discipline rather than about a particular system of interest. The second goal was to stimulate a new wave of SE theory by providing a set of frames that could be used for formal theory articulation in follow‐up research. The workshop focused on abstraction and elaboration due to their richness and pervasiveness in SE and investigated the concept in two interrelated contexts: (a) the social coordination of design teams and (b) its strategic use during system design. For each research context, we offer a structured guideline for theorizing, and provide an understanding and framing of some of the generalized abstraction and elaboration uses in SE. Research frames articulated in this workshop could serve as the first step for future research on SE theory, which necessitates hypotheses generation, data collection, validation, and refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City sprawl and rapid increase of petroleum-fueled passenger vehicles has attracted a lot of attention due to concerns of resource energy scarcity and associated environmental damage. This paper uses the transition theory of socio-technical system from the multi-level perspective to analyze the internal mechanism of urban transportation's transition process and find the most sustainable measures to promote transition. A set of evaluation indicators are constructed for the urban transportation sustainability transition from macro landscape, meso regime and micro niche. Then these indicators are applied to 13 cities in Jiangsu Province and calculate scores of each using triangular fuzzy logic method. The results show that: most cities are in the 'medium' stage of transportation transition, while only 4 cities in the 'relatively poor' stage. Development of micro niche plays vital role in promoting the transition of urban transportation towards sustainability. Adequate infrastructure support and detailed implementation policies should be developed to protect the steady growth of innovation niches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions (HEI) have undergone fundamental changes driven by ICT developments, globalisation, and the advent of socio-constructivist pedagogic approaches. As a result, within the UK, capital investment in new and retrofitted facilities has reached a record expenditure. Recent research on user-related evaluations of facilities, particularly in HEI learning spaces, highlights the prevalence of evaluations dominated by reductionist approaches focused on measuring outcomes, on users, such as satisfaction, learning outcomes or engagement. These approaches have a major pitfall, neglecting the complexity of the dynamic relationships between people, spaces, technology, institutional structure and pedagogic practices. In response, this paper aims to propose a shift on current approaches by exploring the application of sociotechnical systems theory to learning space design and evaluation. Amid these, it is argued that Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) offers promising alternatives to inform design and management of higher education learning spaces. Finally, within the paper, three CWA interventions are proposed and discussed, focusing on how these address previously identified shortcomings of predominant approaches used in HEI learning space design and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article proposes a new method of occupational risk assessment which uses the grey decision model. The method is called the grey occupational risk assessment model (GORAM). The presented method allows for combining measurable and qualitative factors in the process of occupational risk assessment through the use of expert knowledge. This method can be applied to the multifaceted occupational risk assessment of complex and uncertain sociotechnical systems. First, the article presents problems with currently used methods of occupational risk assessment in the context of the possibility of solving them using the methods of the grey system theory. Secondly, the algorithm of the GORAM method is presented. Finally, the developed GORAM model was used in a case study involving the position of a mechanic in the technical department of a production company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Lean culture has been noted to be an underdeveloped concept. The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of Lean culture by determining its leading cultural clusters. Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis was used to perform top relevant keywords exploration and qualitative analysis on main text of 33 reference books, 21 Lean generic and 12 Lean healthcare, consolidated as three cases (Lean general, Lean Liker et al. and Lean healthcare). Findings: Four emergent Lean's leading cultural clusters: operations, change, collectivity and humanity were identified inductively from ten 10 relevant keywords, namely, in order of importance: work, time, process, Lean, system, improvement, production, patient, people and team. Saliency of the word "time" is noteworthy. Cross-validation of these cultural clusters is demonstrated through sociotechnical systems theory. Research limitations/implications: Content analysis is shown to be an effective research method enabling inductive analysis. Identification of four leading clusters should support productive further research on Lean culture. Practical implications: The four cultural clusters indicate to healthcare and other domains managers, who wish to improve their Lean cultural transformation success rate, to focus their attention to what their organization actually does (operations), to how improvement happens (change) and to how everything (collectivity) and everyone (humanity) work together in their organization. Originality/value: This work applies innovative content analysis on Lean reference books. It highlights the importance of time as an underappreciated Lean culture element. It provides evidence and additional support for link between Lean and sociotechnical systems theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare systems with limited resources face rising demand pressures. Healthcare decision-makers increasingly recognise the potential of innovation to help respond to this challenge and to support high-quality care. However, comprehensive and actionable evidence on how to realise this potential is lacking. We adopt sociotechnical systems and innovation systems theoretical perspectives to examine conditions that can support and sustain innovating healthcare systems. We use primary data focussing on England (with 670 contributions over time) and triangulate findings against globally-relevant literature. We discuss the complexity of factors influencing an innovating healthcare system's ability to support the development and uptake of innovations and share practical learning about changes in policy, culture, and behaviour that could support system improvement. Three themes are examined in detail: skills, capabilities, and leadership; motivations and accountabilities; and collaboration and coordination. We also contribute to advancing applications of sociotechnical systems thinking to major societal transformation challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce activity‐based analysis (ABA) for explaining and learning about sociotechnical system change at the societal function level. The analysis is based on a novel conceptualization of sociotechnical systems as activity systems, and change as result of the resolution of contradictions that develop within and between activities carried out for the fulfilment of societal functions. We develop ABA for the specific domain and employ it in the construction of a narrative explanation of the evolution of the food/nutrition sociotechnical system from the institutionalization of processed food to the emergence of medical nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The significance of radical innovations for sustainability is elucidated from the perspective of diverse discourses. • Grassroots innovation (GI) as a radical innovation paradigm with unconventional agents, goals and practices. • A research gap in the systematic analysis and assessment of the sustainability of GIs persists. • A meta-theoretical framework for assessing the sustainability of radical innovation and GI is proposed. • It integrates the culture and tools of diverse discourses and takes a systems thinking view on the evaluation of innovation. Diverse discourses converge into the importance of broadening the focus of sustainability innovations from merely cleaner technologies to more radical, paradigmatic innovations. Here, we focus on grassroots innovation (GI) as a radical innovation paradigm whose agents, goals and practices are fundamentally different from conventional innovation. Researchers typically attribute GIs the potential to influence the transition toward more sustainable production and consumption. Through a systematic literature review, we find that a research gap in the systematic analysis of GIs' sustainability persists. We thus propose a meta-theoretical framework to systematise the sustainability assessment of GIs across three system levels: product, organisational model and socio-technical system. Our framework delineates how the theory and tools from sustainability assessment and sustainable business models may enrich sustainability transitions studies in the analysis of grassroots, and more broadly, radical innovation, providing a systems thinking view and increasing the credibility and reflexivity of sustainability arguments in transition studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last 15 years has witnessed a surge in rail-related human factors research but little has examined the Track Worker role. Track work often takes place whilst trains are running under the protection of Lookouts who provide warning of approaching trains. Despite—or perhaps because of—these measures, there is a notable prevalence of incidents involving Lookouts, warranting a closer look at the nature of their task and the wider sociotechnical system (STS) to identify what may be learned for railway safety management. A systematic review of incident reports involving Lookouts was undertaken on Australian and UK rail incidents from 2006 to mid-2018 with a qualitative meta-analysis (n = 31) revealing nine factors corresponding with STS dimensions at the organisational, social, task and individual level. Much of the risk lay in the set up and implementation of Lookout working, and in Track Worker group dynamics—factors endemic to working whilst trains are running—rather than specific to the Lookout, with such factors arguably applicable across other Track Worker groups. Findings point to a need for more targeted research into the STS aspects of track working, as well as improving the training and/or procedures of those managing the Lookout protection system of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Accidents are caused by contributory factors from across entire work systems. • Risk assessment provides a proactive approach to accident prevention. • The extent to which risk assessment methods take a systems approach is unclear. • We reviewed risk assessment methods to determine whether they adopt a systems approach. • The majority of existing methods do not adopt a systems approach. Accidents are now widely acknowledged to be a systems phenomenon. As part of a proactive approach to safety management, organisations use risk assessment methods to identify the hazards and associated risks that may lead to accidents. Although there is an extensive body of literature on the need for a systems thinking approach in accident analysis, little has been said regarding the theoretical underpinnings of risk assessment methods. The aim of this paper was to systematically review the risk assessment methods presented in the literature and evaluate the extent to which they are underpinned by a systems thinking approach. A total of 342 methods spanning a range of safety-critical domains were evaluated using Rasmussen's tenets of accident causation. A key finding is that the majority of existing risk assessment methods are not consistent with Rasmussen's model of accident causation (arguably the most popular model in safety science circles). Instead, the majority of risk assessment methods focus on risks at the so called sharp-end and largely view accidents as emerging from a linear, or chain-of-events process. This overlooks emergent risks at other levels of the system, including supervisory, managerial, regulatory and government levels. The findings therefore suggest that the majority of existing risk assessment methods may be inadequate for identifying hazards and analysing risks within complex sociotechnical systems. The implications for risk assessment practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We conducted a systematic literature review of contemporary systems thinking accident analysis methods. • Qualitative and quantitative syntheses of study results were performed for Accimap, HFACS, STAMP-CAST, and FRAM. • Across the methods, a majority of the contributory factors underpinning accident causation were identified at lower system levels. • The development of novel accident analysis approaches in the safety science research context is encouraged based on the findings discussed. This systematic review examines and reports on peer reviewed studies that have applied systems thinking accident analysis methods to better understand the cause of accidents in a diverse range of sociotechnical systems contexts. Four databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science) were searched for published articles during the dates 01 January 1990 to 31 July 2018, inclusive, for original peer reviewed journal articles. Eligible studies applied AcciMap, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), the Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) method, including Causal Analysis based on STAMP (CAST), and the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM). Outcomes included accidents ranging from major events to minor incidents. A total of 73 articles were included. There were 20, 43, six, and four studies in the AcciMap, HFACS, STAMP-CAST, and FRAM methods categories, respectively. The most common accident contexts were aviation, maritime, rail, public health, and mining. A greater number of contributory factors were found at the lower end of the sociotechnical systems analysed, including the equipment/technology, human/staff, and operating processes levels. A majority of studies used supplementary approaches to enhance the analytical capacity of base applications. Systems thinking accident analysis methods have been popular for close to two decades and have been applied in a diverse range of sociotechnical systems contexts. A number of research-based recommendations are proposed, including the need to upgrade incident reporting systems and further explore opportunities around the development of novel accident analysis approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable cost and effort are invested in government and private-sector activities aimed at providing a societally tolerable level of fire safety of the built environment. This is particularly true with respect to fire safety of new building construction. On the government side, this includes activities associated with building and fire regulations, material performance and test standards, design guidance, competency requirements, review and approvals, and more. On the private side, activities include product development, analysis and design, construction and installation, as well as education and training of practitioners. In some cases there are overlaps (e.g., private building control). However, once buildings become occupied, the system faces several challenges. Oversight of building use and modification often gets lost. Different actors come into play. Competing objectives become more significant. Occupants often lack understanding and ability to recognize problems and make adjustments. The net result is an increase in fire safety risk over the life of a building, with less opportunities for the regulatory system to make interventions prior to an unwanted fire event. However, this can be changed if the approach to regulating existing buildings changes, and importantly, embodies whole-of-life, multi-agency, holistic, systems-based thinking. • Overviews challenges with fire safety of existing buildings • Reviews select examples of significant fire losses in existing buildings • Discusses how sociotechnical systems and safety systems thinking can help • Outlines research needs for policy changes needed to address the gaps [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]