Steve Waddell - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Steve Waddell

Humanistic management journal, Mar 20, 2023

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Dec 1, 2017

A recent strand of the literature bridging across sustainability, complexity, environmental and g... more A recent strand of the literature bridging across sustainability, complexity, environmental and governance science (developed under the umbrella of Transition Management, TM) has advanced a theory on how transitions towards sustainability gain scale from niche to mainstream. Though widely applied both in global food and agricultural systems and other economic sectors, this strand of the literature has been subject to debate in the way it conceives its pathways of transformation. One of the main criticisms to TM theory points at its focus on co-creation processes among stakeholders in the transition arena, yet paying insufficient attention to the role of conflict and antagonistic forces in achieving a transformation through power dynamics. Large systems change (LSC) theory, recently introduced, presents a way to address this shortcoming with a more comprehensive understanding of the multiple pathways needed for transformation towards sustainability. In addition to co-creating change, LSC argues that supporting, doing and forcing change strategies are also needed. The perspective of LSC theory on the transformative turn towards sustainability is illustrated using the change strategies taking place in global food and agricultural systems between 2000 and 2015.

Journal of Organizational Change Management, Oct 12, 2015

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend and elaborate the notion of successful organizat... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend and elaborate the notion of successful organizational change to incorporate the concept of large system change (LSC), by developing a framework that brings together complexity and wicked problems theories to understand how individual organizations and change agents can better influence LSC. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper integrates wicked problems and complexity theories to understand and cope with large system initiatives from the perspective of change agents in organizations, and uses the case of the electricity system as an illustrative example for these concepts. Findings – The paper provides implications for LSC and action steps for change agents in organizations, arguing that by understanding change initiatives through the lenses of complexity and wicked problems, change agents are likely to be more effective. Research limitations/implications – The integration of complexity science and wicked problems underpins the development of a comprehensive framework for creating effective LSC solutions, however, these ideas still need to be grounded in practice and empirical research. Practical implications – Using these ideas, change agents in organizations can enhance their influence and use the power of system dynamics to support positive action for sustainable change. This paper provides a foundation to help think through the cross-sectoral, inter-organizational, and change dynamics involved in LSC efforts needed to bring about a more sustainable, secure, and equitable world for all. Social implications – The world greatly needs system change; however, there is limited theory on effective LSC. This paper hopes to contribute to understanding the ways in which the difficulties of such change can be harnessed to move in positive directions with minimal disruption and greatest effectiveness. Originality/value – Theories of change management that position the organization in the context of a broader system and define its role in creating change do not yet articulate the nature of the problems at hand in relation to the large systems where they are embedded. This paper builds upon wicked problems and complexity theories to shed light on the role of change agents and organizations in effective transformational change.

SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks, Jan 31, 2017

The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Jun 1, 2015

In this paper we put forward a theory of large systems change (LSC), where large systems are defi... more In this paper we put forward a theory of large systems change (LSC), where large systems are defined as having breadth (i.e. engaging large numbers of people, institutions, and geographies) and depth (i.e. changing the complex relationships among elements of power and structural relationships simultaneously). We focus primarily on transformational LSC, recognising that such systems are complex adaptive systems in which change is continuous and emergent, but directions can be supported. A typology of change actions with two core dimensions-'confrontation' and 'collaboration' on the horizontal axis and 'generative' and 'ungenerative' change on the vertical-suggests that change strategies can be classified into four broad archetypes: forcing change, supporting change, paternalistic change, or co-creating change. LSC theory development focuses on three core questions: what is the foundation of LSC concepts and methods, what needs to change, and how does LSC occur? We conclude by reviewing how papers in the Special Issue fit into these questions. Large Systems Change An Emerging Field of Transformation and Transitions * Issue

Journal of awareness-based systems change, May 31, 2022

Business & society 360, Jun 15, 2020

Climate change is upon us, and the soft landing window has almost certainly closed given the curr... more Climate change is upon us, and the soft landing window has almost certainly closed given the current pace of response. But climate change is only one of the huge issues facing humanity – indeed, the planetary boundaries model (Rockstrom et al., 2009; Steffen et al., 2015) ranks biodiversity loss and biochemical flows even further along the path of irreversible planet-threatening change. In the face of powerful inertia, how can we at least shape the hard landing that seems inevitable, where civilization as we know it will likely collapse to support the rising of much better ones? The SDG Transformations Forum supports development of powerful T-systems as a purposeful transformation strategy with this goal. To do so, the Forum has developed a strategy drawing from leading knowledge about how transformation happens, and creating systems change communities that are applying and advancing the strategy in the experimental, adaptive manner focused on deep learning and radical action.

Journal of management for global sustainability, Dec 3, 2021

Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2019

Business & Society, Dec 10, 2018

This article explores the role of changing memes in large systems change toward marriage equality... more This article explores the role of changing memes in large systems change toward marriage equality-popularly referred to as same-sex marriage-in the United States. Using an abbreviated case history of the transformation, the article particularly explores the shifting memes or core units of culture, in this case, word phrases associated with marriage equality over time, influencing the social change process. Using both the case history and the empirical work on memes, the article identifies nine lessons to support others tackling large systems change challenges. Keywords gay marriage, gay rights, memes, large system change, transformation Few, if any, gay rights activists in 1996 would have predicted that within two decades, marriage equality would be the law of the land in the United States. That was the year that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defining

The year is 2022. The Council of Global Action Networks (GAN) has just completed its week-long Gl... more The year is 2022. The Council of Global Action Networks (GAN) has just completed its week-long Global Biennial. Juanita Tariq, Chair of the Network of Global Health GANs, is pleased. “The governments finally understand that they are only one of the stakeholder groups, and don’t have the final say on everything. And we’re finally addressing the good of the global commons, rather than dealing with nation-state blocs. They are finally organizing in response to the transnational perspectives of business and civil society.”

Systemic Practice and Action Research

Terms for Endearment: Business, NGOs and Sustainable Development

Humanistic Management Journal

Journal of Awareness-Based Systems Change

Transformation (T-) systems are innovative collections of initiatives and efforts geared to bring... more Transformation (T-) systems are innovative collections of initiatives and efforts geared to bringing about a flourishing socio-ecological system in a given context. They comprise of the totality of initiatives, people and organizations who are collectively seeking to transform a particular issue or geography in a common direction, when they attempt to align their efforts for greater effectiveness, as a result of that growing identity and self-awareness. This article explores the concept of transformation (T-) systems, and how they can become impactful organizing frames for change agents. Another innovative type of entity, the Transformation Catalyst (TC), works to connect, cohere, and amplify the work of actors and initiatives, who generally work independently, into coherent T-systems. We use evolving work in the sustainable seafood arena to illustrate these ideas.

When the Global Finance Initiative (GFI) wanted to understand how to define the “global finance s... more When the Global Finance Initiative (GFI) wanted to understand how to define the “global finance system” and identify its stakeholders to develop a strategy to integrate social and environmental concerns into the system, it began with issue crawls. When the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) considered its strategy for developing a South African network to advance GRI’s triple-bottom-line accountability agenda, social network analysis (SNA) was used. When the European Commission wanted to understand how to enhance the process of innovation, it used an approach called value network analysis (VNA). When Youth Enterprise and Sustainability (YES) in Latin America wanted to develop its network strategy it turned to an approach called managing for Clarity (MfC). When wanting to understand the role of GANs (Global Action Networks) in responding to the Tragedy of the Commons, systems archetypes are useful. When the Mass Atrocities Project wanted to understand use of specific words, it underto...

Journal of Management for Global Sustainability, 2021