This paper provides an introduction to three key concepts derived from chaos theory, with practical examples of each, which the authors believe can offer marketers an enriched understanding of the process by which they set out to construct an alternative future. A central tenet of chaos theory...

Purpose – Proposes to call for inclusion of alternative conceptual perspectives in decision making theory and practice. Design/methodology/approach – Adopts a conceptual approach drawing on a diverse range of theories, and applying an illustrative example. Findings – Finds that...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how order‐generated rules applied to organizing form dualities can assist in creating the conditions for emergent, self‐organized behavior in organizations, thereby offering an operational deployment of complexity theory....

Purpose – To offer a complexity‐informed framework for the design of an effective organizational crisis response system. Design/methodology/approach – A narrative analysis of the crisis response in a hotel chain facing a major food poisoning outbreak, seen from a complexity theory...

Purpose – This paper seeks to investigate the influence of the external environment on the choice of strategic management activities, from a chaos and complexity perspective, since a business environment is a complex adaptive system. Design/methodology/approach – The study in this paper was...

Purpose – In recent years, the new science has become popular in management literature. This involves the use of metaphors from the field of science (e.g. mathematics, chemistry, physics and biology) in the field of management. This paper aims to examine the use of new science metaphors in...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of complex adaptive systems (CAS) from the perspective of managing organizations, to describe and explore the management principles in a case study of an organization with unconventional ways of management and to present a tentative...

For the past ten years the management literature has increasingly discussed the concept of learning organizations. Yet, more that a decade later, few organizations have figured out how to create the structures and processes necessary to assure continuous learning. This article purports that this...

A decision to don the chaos lens, adopt dialogue as its primary mode of communication, and to recognize the power of the organizational mind has fundamentally and irreversibly changed the way a Dutch capital‐equipment manufacturer operates in its rapidly complexifying global marketplace....

In order to set the stage for this special issue, the prime concepts are defined: i.e. “chaos,” “complexity,” “learning” (individual and organizational), “learning organization,” and “chaordic enterprise”. Also, several chaos‐and‐complexity‐related definitions of...