Putting Systems Theory to Work — The Synergy Between Theory and Practice

The paper describes a series of field trials that have been conducted with the aim of accessing the effectiveness of the participative approach to strategy making supported by soft systems and other methods. The trials themselves are described together with some of the theoretical findings. The research approach adopted attempts to find a synergy between theory-based and practice-based approaches. The reflection-on-action approach shares many of the attributes and shortcomings of action research. Nevertheless, the approach offers an alternative source of insight to traditional research into organisational change. The research laid out in the paper illustrates one way in which synergy can be and has been developed between systems theory and practice.