Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

System Governance: Emergence of Practical Perspectives Across the Disciplines

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Infranomics

Part of the book series: Topics in Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality ((TSRQ,volume 24))

Abstract

As the eventual concept of governance has yet to emerge, traditional sources of power and authority symbols will always be at risk of falling short or even failing catastrophically. This is a daunting challenge since the actual governance landscape have dynamically evolved far more sophisticatedly than the usual well-framed “control” models that are embedded within traditional domains of administrative, public administration and political theories. The purpose of this paper is to articulate an alternative analysis of governance -relevant themes based on systems theoretic principles. This study utilizes a system-of-systems (SoS) conceptualization of governance that relates (1) a ‘governed’ system—the target of governance , with (2) a ‘governing’ system—the direct controller of the ‘governed’ system, (3) a ‘metagovernance’ systems—a metasystem that strategically influences the ‘governing’ system directly and the ‘governed’ system indirectly, and (4) its contextual environment—as anything external to the supposed SoS boundary. The paper will discuss how the symbols of governance that perpetuate “myths of control” thinking within the emergent infranomics discourse will be better understood incorporating for instance pluralist perspectives, role of the observer, and information—a few example of concepts and principles that are well-articulated in systems-based theories and approaches. The main contribution of this study is a set of systems-based ideas representing governance that will continue to remain relevant in spite of emergent problems and increased complexity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Bijlsma-Frankema K, Koopman P (2004) The oxymoron of control in an era of globalisation: vulnerabilities of a mega myth. J Managerial Psychol 19(3):204–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Mintzberg H (1996) Managing government. Governing Manage Harvard Bus Rev 74(3):75–83

    Google Scholar 

  3. Orton JD, Weick KE (1990) Loosely coupled systems: a reconceptualization. Acad Manag Rev 15(2):203–223

    Google Scholar 

  4. Rudolph LI, Rudolph SH (1979) Authority and power in bureaucratic and patrominal administration: a revisionist interpretation of weber on bureaucracy. World Politics 31(2):195–227

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  5. Eagan JL (2007) Is authority in public administration separable from authoritarianism? personalities, institutions, and resistance. Admin Theor Praxis 29(1):83–101

    Google Scholar 

  6. Astley WG, Sachdeva PS (1984) Structural sources of intraorganizational power: a theoretical synthesis. Acad Manage Rev 9(1):104–113

    Google Scholar 

  7. Salancik GR, Pfeffer J (1974) The bases and use of power in organizational decision making: the case of an university. Adm Sci Qual 19(4):453–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Holland J (1998) Emergence: from Chaos to order. Addison-Wesley, Reading

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. Kettl DF (2000) The transformation fo governance: globalization, devolution, and the role of government. Public Admin Rev 60(6):488–497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Keating C (2005) Research foundations for system of systems engineering. In: IEEE international conference on systems, man and cybernetics 2005, vol 3, pp 2720–2725. doi:10.1109/ICSMC.2005.1571561

  11. Baldwin W, Sauser B, Boardman J, John L (2010) A typology of systems paradoxes. Inf, Knowl, Syst Manage 9(1):1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Lycan WG (2010) What, exactly, is a paradox? Analysis 70(4):615–622

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  13. Jose J (2009) Conceptualising governance: discourse, theory and ontology paper presented at the annual meeting of the WPSA annual meeting ideas, interests and institutions, Hyatt regency Vancouver, Canada, Online <PDF>. 2010-11-11 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p316878_index.html

  14. Kjær A (2004) Governance: key concepts. Polity Press, Malden

    Google Scholar 

  15. Kooiman J (2003) Activation in governance. In: Bang HP (ed) Governing as social and political communication. Manchester University Press, New York, pp 79–98

    Google Scholar 

  16. Pierre J (2000) Conclusions: governance beyond state strength. In: Pierre J (ed) Debating governance: authority, steering, and democracy. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 241–246

    Google Scholar 

  17. Stoker G (1998) Governance as theory: five propositions. Int Social Sci J 50(155):17–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Mathiason J (2009) Internet governance: the new frontier of global institutions. Taylor and Francis, New York

    Google Scholar 

  19. Ostrom V (2008) Constitutional foundations for a theory of system comparisons. In: Sproule-Jones M, Allen B, Sabetti F (eds) The struggle to constitute and sustain productive orders: vincent ostrom’s quest to understand human affairs. Lexington Books, Plymouth, pp 11–26

    Google Scholar 

  20. Stehr N (2004) A world made of knowledge. In: Stehr N (ed) The governance of knowledge, pp 9–26. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick

    Google Scholar 

  21. Marks E (2008) Service-oriented architecture governance for the services driven enterprise. Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  22. Provan K, Kenis P (2008) Modes of network governance: structure, management, and effectiveness. J Public Admin Res Theor 18(2):229–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Gheorghe AV (2004) Risks, vulnerability, sustainability and governance: a new landscape for critical infrastructures. Int J Crit Infrastruct 1(1):118–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Luhmann N (1982) The world society as a social system. Int J Gen Syst 8(3):131–138

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  25. Ackoff RL (1971) Towards a system of systems concepts. Manage Sci 17(11):661–671

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Boulding KE (1956) General systems theory-the skeleton of science. Manage Sci 2(3):197–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Boulding K (1985) The world as a total system. Sage Publications, New York

    Google Scholar 

  28. Simon H (1996) The architecture of complexity. In: Simon HA (ed) Sciences of the artificial, 3rd edn. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  29. Weaver W (1948) Science and complexity. Am Sci 36:536–544

    Google Scholar 

  30. Willke H (2007) Smart governance: governing the global knowledge society. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  31. Williamson OE (1994) Visible and invisible governance. Am Econ Rev 84(2):323–326

    Google Scholar 

  32. Santas G (2001) Goodness and justice: Plato, Aristotle, and the moderns. Wiley-Blackwell, Malden

    Google Scholar 

  33. Bevir M (2006) Democratic governance: systems and radical perspectives. Public Administration Rev 66:426–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Bevir M (2006) Democratic governance. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  35. Dixon J, Dogan R (2002) Hierarchies, networks, and markets: responses to socieetal governance failure. Admin Theor Praxis 24(1):175

    Google Scholar 

  36. Kersbergen K, Waarden F (2004) ‘Governance’ as a bridge between disciplines: cross-disciplinary inspiration regarding shifts in governance and problems of governability, accountability and legitimacy. Eur J Political Res 43:143–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Krippendorff K (2004) Content analysis: an introduction to its methodology, 2nd edn. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  38. Duriau VJ, Reger RK, Pfarrer MD (2007) A content analysis of the content analysis literature in organization studies: research themes, data sources, and methodological refinements. Organiz Res Methods 10(1):5–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Barr PS, Stimpert JL, Huff AS (1992) Cognitive change, strategic action, and organizational renewal. Strateg Manag J 13:15–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Kabanoff B, Waldersee R, Cohen M (1995) Espoused values and organizational change themes. Acad Manage J 38(4):1075–1104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Calida B, Hester P (2010) Unraveling future research: An analysis of emergent literature in open innovation. Ann Innov Entrepreneurship, 1(1) doi:10.3402/aie.v1i1.5845

  42. Bedeian AG (2004) Peer review and the social construction of knowledge in the management discipline. Acad Manage Learn Edu 3(2):198–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Mahoney MJ (1985) Open exchange and epistemic progress. Am Psychol 40(1):29–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Corman S, Dooley K (2006) Crawdad text analysis system (v 2.0). Chandler AZ: Crawdad Technologies, LLC

    Google Scholar 

  45. Tate WL, Ellaram LM and Kirchoff JF (2010) Corporate Social Responsibility Reports: A Thematic Analysis Related to Supply Chain Management. J Sup Chain Management, 46: 19–44

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, Old Dominion University, Kaufman Hall, Rm. 241, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA

    Behnido Y. Calida & Charles B. Keating

Authors
  1. Behnido Y. Calida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Charles B. Keating
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Behnido Y. Calida .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Mngmt & Systems Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA

    Adrian V. Gheorghe

  2. Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Joint Research Center, Petten, The Netherlands

    Marcelo Masera

  3. Engineering Management and Systems Eng., Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA

    Polinpapilinho F. Katina

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht (outside the USA)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Calida, B.Y., Keating, C.B. (2014). System Governance: Emergence of Practical Perspectives Across the Disciplines. In: Gheorghe, A., Masera, M., Katina, P. (eds) Infranomics. Topics in Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02493-6_18

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02493-6_18

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02492-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02493-6

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation