Chaos and Complexity

Abstract

Chaos and complexity theory, as developed in mathematics and the natural sciences, has led to major new advances in the understanding of natural phenomena that previously were considered too complex or unpatterned to comprehend. These advances have been slow to filter into organization science. A concerted effort to overcome the built-in inertia and insulation of organization science is needed. Such efforts include investment in new learning-by gatekeepers and a strengthening of ties to the natural sciences. If these efforts are not pursued, organization science will remain scientifically backward and largely irrelevant to the real organizational world.