Barriers to the diffusion of the VSM (Nuno Rosa, 2016)

UCL Centre for Systems Engineering Department of Space and Climate Physics Technology Management Research Project (60 credits) Submitted in partial fulfilment of MSc in Technology Management On: 24/08/16 Module SPCEGT99 Technology Management Research Project Supervisor Dr Raúl Leal

Title : Barriers to the diffusion of the Viable System Model

Nuno ROSA

ABSTRACT

The Viable System Model (VSM) is a tool for the diagnosis and design of organisations. Despite having

been developed in the 60s, this framework has not become widely known. This dissertation aims to

confirm how widespread the knowledge and use of the VSM is and to investigate the barriers to the

diffusion of this framework. Previous studies have mentioned some of the obstacles that prevent the

VSM to become widely known. However, there has not been an investigation particularly focused on

the issues behind the obstacles to the dissemination of the VSM and analysing them in light of a theory

of diffusion. As such, this Dissertation further advances the understanding of the aforementioned issues,

investigating the potential obstacles to diffusion and bringing them together as a whole in a

comprehensive analysis in the context of Everett Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory. Interviews

were conducted in order to explore the aforementioned question and to acquire real-world perspectives

that are not usually found in academic papers regarding the awareness and use of the VSM. The findings

from the research confirmed that a number of attributes either slow down the diffusion of the VSM or

inhibit completely — these include issues related to application, methodology and politics; different

thinking approaches; and learning obstacles. The results are discussed in light of Rogers’ theory by

analysing the aforementioned barriers and interpreting them in terms of the characteristics that affect

the rate of diffusion of innovations. Furthermore, the behaviour of the social system and the

communication channels that influence the VSM are also examined. As a result of the above, it was

found the VSM is characterised by some advantages, such as its intrinsic benefits in terms of

organisational diagnostic and design, as well as presenting some immediacy of results shortly after

understanding its basic concepts. However, it is also characterised by: its riskiness of purchase;

challenges in terms of observability of results; and extent of the behavioural change it requires. This

Dissertation concludes that the VSM is still characterised by a majority of factors that slow down its

diffusion or that act as barriers regarding its dissemination towards a widespread audience.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1

2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 4

3 METHODOLOGY AND METHODS ......................................................................................... 11

4 RESULTS .................................................................................................................................... 14

5 DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................. 26

6 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 35

7 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 37

UCL MSc Technology Management Rosa, 2016

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

A growing number of companies are being forced to reformulate their business, whether due an

increasingly competitive economic environment or because of new operational requirements that

demand technological updates. This business reformulation, often takes the form of a business

transformation — a fundamental change, normally related to business strategy, design of a new business

model or organisational structure (Ashkenas, 2015).

However, research show that a large percentage of business transformation projects fail (70%), and that

the rate of success is relatively low (10%) when the organisation did not have a holistic program

(McKinsey & Company, 2013). As such, it could be expected that those systemic tools that provide

better chances of success would come to the forefront of management and organisational design. The

Viable System Model (VSM) could be one of those tools.

The VSM was created in the 60s as a model for the organisational structure that a company should

possess in order to remain viable (Beer, 1981), i.e., in order to survive a changing environment. Given

the systemic nature of the VSM, as well as its function as a tool for organisational design and diagnosis,

examining the value of such a model seems extremely relevant and timely.

As such, this dissertation focuses on understanding how widespread the awareness and application of

the Viable System Model (VSM) among the participants of the social system that might derive the most

benefits from it — namely, those that work with organisational design and business transformation.

Since this research project concerns the diffusion of the VSM and not an analysis of the framework

itself, the VSM model (Figure 1, below) and its functioning will not be explored in this Dissertation.

For a brief overview of the VSM, refer to Appendix 1 of this Dissertation; for a detailed description and

discussion of the VSM, refer to the Bibliography section.


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Figure 1. Diagram of Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model (Beer, 1979)

1.2 Research question

While appearing to display a solid theoretical framework, and despite having been developed in the 60s,

the VSM does not seem to be widely known among the communities that research and practice within

the aforementioned fields. As such, this Dissertation aims to ascertain how widespread the knowledge

and use of the framework actually is in light of Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory.

Given the reported efficiency and value of the VSM, one might assume that this model would have

disseminated and reached a mainstream audience outside of organisational management and design

niches. However, given the seemingly limited awareness and use of the VSM, this dissertation attempts

to understand the reasons that might explain that situation, that is the barriers that prevent its diffusion

towards a widespread audience.

1.3 Conclusion

To understand the reasons that could be behind the afore-mentioned question, this Dissertation includes

the following sections: a Literature Review where the main challenges and barriers towards the diffusion

of the VSM are presented; a Methodology section that explains how the empirical data of this research


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was collected; the Results, in which the empirical evidence obtained through interviews is presented;

and a Discussion section, where the data found throughout the research process are discussed and

conclusions are drawn from the findings.


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2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

Jones and Cockton (2003) consider that, despite being well-known and applied by members of certain

circles, managers in general would benefit greatly from the knowledge and application of the VSM —

and, as such, argue that this model should be known by a more widespread audience.

To provide a platform of analysis, this dissertation presents a literature review that starts by delving into

the perceived benefits of the VSM, followed by considerations that address its validity as a useful

framework to perform organisational diagnosis and design, as well as to conduct business

transformation.

Subsequently, this section focuses on the reasons that might explain why the awareness of the VSM is

not more widespread and the framework used among the academia, the practitioner communities (be it

internal or external consultants within the organisations), or the beneficiaries of their services (namely,

managers within the organisations). These include issues related to application of the framework;

different thinking approaches (linear vs systemic thinking); and learning obstacles.

2.2 Benefits

The first consideration worthy of attention regarding the VSM’s power as a tool is probably its capability

to be applied to very different contexts. This is illustrated by Azadeh et al. (2011), who list a number of

various applications of VSM, including areas as diversified as: environment management; social,

behavioural and organisational management; information and knowledge management; process

management; and others.

After taking the above into account, the primary distinction that must be made regarding the VSM

concerns its systemic approach to the organisation in comparison to traditional management

frameworks. As such, one of its main strengths lies in its holistic approach, according to which it may

even “accept sub-optimal performance of some of the parts to achieve a defined overall objective”

(Beckford, 1993, p. 39).

Regarding its application, the VSM has been praised for enabling a fast and thorough diagnosis

(Hoverstadt, 2008), allowing to reveal and pinpoint the existing organisational issues and, therefore, to

provide recommendations to address them — as a result of the descriptive capabilities of the VSM

regarding how a viable system should be designed (Leonard, 2009).


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In addition, the VSM puts into evidence a range of communication channels that should be present to

transfer information among the different systems, and provides a neutral terminology focussed on

allowing diagnostic and problem-solving analysis instead of assigning blame. The purposeful inclusion

of a balancing mechanism between future prospects and the present circumstances of the organisation

allows to conduct planning within the organisation in a sustainable manner (Leonard, 1992).

Contrary to the criticism that interprets the VSM as a mechanistic model, through the distribution of

responsibility, this framework encourages managers to become active participants instead of passive

order-fulfilling employees (Holmberg,1989). This same feature is highlighted by Umpleby (2006), who

notes that this approach is in line with the level of education and capability of today’s workers. Notably,

Espejo and Gill (1997) argue already in 1997 how the new type of organisations characterized by flatter

structures could benefit from a model that focuses on effective communication instead of on the

reporting lines within functions.

However, despite all the vast range of applications, the identified benefits, and the particular relevance

for present-day organisations and workers, the VSM is not a widely known model. The reasons behind

this occurrence are what this project aims at investigating.

2.3 Validity

Perhaps one the earliest criticisms to the VSM, noted by Walker (2006) and Burgess and Wake (2012),

was the lack of exemplar situations where the model could clearly prove itself as a useful framework

for organisational design and transformation. This translated into a concern about the legitimacy of the

VSM as a practical and efficient tool.

However, in many academic papers, the validity of the VSM has been evidenced throughout the years

in a variety of circumstances and regarding organisations of different nature and size. In his article,

Schwaninger (2006) presents a substantial collection of applications of the VSM, which include business

transformation; improving an organisation’s cohesion; and the development and consolidation of

strategy and mission of organisations.

For instance, the application to small and medium enterprises are covered by Burgess and Wake (2012),

Beckford reports on larger companies (1993) and organisations facing a crisis situation (Beckford,

1992), and Walker (1998) reports an intervention in a wholefood cooperative. In addition, Malik, a


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holistic management consulting, has an approach firmly based on management cybernetics including

VSM within its tools of choice (Malik-management.com, 2016).

These considerations regarding the demonstrated validity of the VSM add to the above-mentioned about

reflection about the benefits: if this framework not only presents a number of advantages, but these have

been confirmed along the years through research and testing, it seems pertinent to understand why this

knowledge has not been more broadly spread. This dissertation presents below those reasons that,

through the literature research, were deemed most pertinent to understand this occurrence.

2.4 Application issues

The main difficulties regarding the application of VSM seem to derive, in general, from a combination

of factors. After critical analysis of the main criticisms to the model — which might result in practical

challenges to its application — Beckford (1993) suggests that the main challenges are of linguistic

(including both terminology and figurative language), methodological and political nature. Below, the

dissertation looks into the main reasons behind the issues they might present.

2.4.1 Linguistic

Jones and Cockton (2003) argue that the way that the VSM is expressed can be a source of difficulties.

On one hand, the terminology originally used by Beer might prove difficult to understand, since terms

such as “anti-oscillation, amplifier, attenuator, transducer and homeostasis only have initial explanatory

power for individuals who have come across them while studying physics or biology” (Jones and

Cockton, 2003, p. 2).

On the other hand, even if the terminology is adapted into a more familiar language, issues can arise

from confusion with current vocabulary that has different meanings according to the context. For

instance, in the computer software created by the above-mentioned authors to assist in the learning of

the VSM, they decided to use the term “support” to refer to System 2. This was confusing for a person

in charge of “supporting academic faculties with business development” (Jones and Cockton, 2003, p.

10) who was trying to fit his role under System 2 when, in reality, his role consisted in research and

future oriented types of activities — clearly belonging to System 4.

Besides the textual expression, the VSM is rich in figurative language, through the model itself and

representations of other concepts essential to the framework. Jones and Cockton (2003) argue that the

model sometimes looks “like an electronic circuit diagram, and is not in any way similar to the types of

models that managers are used to see in management books (Jones and Cockton, 2003, p. 2). In addition,


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the same authors mention the difficulties presented by a visual representation of what is an essentially

dynamic system.

Another challenge consists in the graphical representation of the model leading to its understanding as

a hierarchical structure in which System 5 would be superior to the systems below it (Beckford, 1992).

This author goes on to suggest that the model could be represented sideways order to eliminate that

impression of hierarchy that seems to be sometimes perceived.

All the above-mentioned mentioned linguistic confer complexity to the VSM, the impact of which will

be further explored in the Discussion section of this dissertation.

2.4.2 Methodological

Even when the VSM is clearly understood and mastered, there is yet another challenge concerning skills

and methodology that are required in order to use the model successfully. To understand an organisation

and to obtain information that allow to build the model, a practitioner might need to use qualitative

research methods (Hildbrand and Bodhanya, 2015), such as conducting interviews, working with focus

groups, facilitating workshops or performing shadowing.

Several researchers mention the usefulness of the VSM in showing “what” to focus on and what might

need to be addressed, but criticise how unhelpful it is in informing about “how” to undertake the analysis

or diagnosis (Hildbrand and Bodhanya, 2015). While being in line with these considerations, Beckford

(1993) highlights that this situation should be seen as more of a methodological constraint than a

shortcoming of the model itself.

Dickover (1994), referring to the systems science in general, considers that the field would benefit highly

if the skills and knowledge required for the understanding and application of the frameworks were made

explicit. In addition, the same author argues that literature providing help in this context is basically

non-existent and that no assistance is given in determining who to interview and what to inquire about,

or what interactions should be given due attention for the purpose of subsequent translation into the

development of a VSM (Dickover, 1994).

The lack of methodological literature to assist in the use of the VSM means that its application is not

immediately accessible to non-initiated practitioners, conferring another layer of complexity to the

frameworks.


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2.4.3 Political

An issue that seems recurrent when considering the application of the VSM is that of the specific

distribution of responsibility that it requires and, inherently, of power. This situation may come as a

threat to the status quo and the established powers, as pointed out by Beckford (1993). In addition, there

is always the fundamental challenge of obtaining a buy-in from stakeholders. This not only means that

the client must have enough power to implement the changes, but the necessary leverage over other

indirect stakeholders who are part of the systems (Syncho.com, 2009).

In addition to the issue of power, it is also important to note that bringing about change is more than

devising the right communication structures and acknowledging the system dynamics that should be in

place. In effect, a major challenge is posed by the fact that these conditions that bring about a viable

system will only prevail if relationships are successfully created between the members of the

organisation (Espejo and Reyes, 2011).

As will be analysed below, these challenges that result from politics and change management present as

situations that might require some considerable behavioural change — an important factor when

considering the diffusion of an idea, or framework, in this case.

2.5 Different thinking approaches (linear vs systemic thinking)

In addition, the influence of the industrial age with its rigid hierarchy and “command and control

philosophy” (Leonard, 1992, p. 47) was noted back in 1992, and still seems largely prevalent in today’s

organisations. In this sense, it is generally argued, for example by Walker (1998), that most

organisational theories are characterised by linear type of thinking, disregarding whole-systems

considerations and failing to accept the inherent complexity of organisations.

2.6 Learning obstacles

2.6.1 Lack of resources/appropriate strategy for beginners

It has been argued that some of the main publications that present the VSM require a significant

commitment to understand the underlying principles of the framework (Burgess and Wake, 2012).

Espejo and Gill (1997) state that the concepts that constitute the VSM are not intuitive and immediately

easy to understand.


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Besides the level of investment in terms of study, the lack of appropriate resources for beginners to

delve into the VSM could also be one of the reasons behind why the VSM is not generally found in

management textbooks or as part of an educational or training programme (Jones and Cockton, 2003).

In the academic environment, the widespread knowledge of the model might have been inhibited by the

fact that the lack of practical experience in using the model prevents the acquisition of an in-depth

understanding of the VSM (Beckford, 1993). On the one hand, this could lead to management students

not being generally introduced to the model since the due to lecturers not fully mastering the framework.

On the other hand, when taught, Brocklesby and Cummings (1995) consider that there might be a

tendency for the academics to initiate the learning process with too much an emphasis on the theoretical

aspects of the VSM, causing people to switch off — which only makes it a more daunting perspective

when the learner is inserted in a challenging professional context while trying to understand the model.

2.6.2 Lack of practitioner resources

Dickover (1994) considers that Beer’s “Diagnosing the System for Organisations” is directed towards

managers who are already knowledgeable regarding the VSM, and for situations in which a certain

perspective regarding the system has already been determined. As such, no advice is given regarding

how to conduct data collection in the investigation — namely, how to identify the stakeholders that

might provide crucial information or what to ask them.

The same author notes that there have been contributions such as Flood and Jackson’s “Total Systems

Intervention” aimed at recognising which systems model would be more adequate according to the

circumstances — however, it does not aid in terms of defining which specific methods would be more

appropriate for data collection, for instance (Dickover, 1994).

Brocklesby and Cummings (1996) point to a lack of publications directed to the practitioner community

as a reason for the lack of widespread knowledge of the VSM. Hildbrand and Bodhanya (2015) argue

that there is a gap in the literature explaining how to conduct a diagnosis, specifically detailing what

research methods would be more adequate.

The above-mentioned lack of resources directed at beginners and practitioners contribute to make the

VSM a framework that is complicated to learn and put to use. In addition, the conducted research

revealed that the development of knowledge is to a large extent circumscribed to the academia,

indicating a further barrier to the dissemination of the VSM towards other communities.


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2.7 Conclusion

Through the literature research, the VSM has been found to be a solid and versatile framework that

provides a number of benefits in its application. Additionally, its validity has been tested and confirmed

through numerous research projects throughout the years, even though these were mainly conducted in

the context of the academia. However, awareness about the VSM has not disseminated towards a larger

audience.

By demanding a systemic thinking approach, the VSM presents and demands a “new framework of

thought about the nature and purpose of organisations and of the individuals who comprise them”

(Beckford, 1993, p. 61). One the one hand, it expects organisations to be seen as systemic entities,

naturally complex and interconnected, having no hierarchy but rather interdependent functions. On the

other hand, people are to be considered empowered individuals that must be trusted in their roles and in

terms of the responsibility they are given. However, these expectations can prove difficult to accept and

to implement.

Additionally, there are a number of issues related to related to application of the framework: the VSM

model and cybernetics terminology are unknown to most people, which can lead to feelings of exclusion

or inferiority and result in rejection by the stakeholders; to date, there is no clear methodology developed

to aid in interventions using the framework; and there may be difficulties related to politics within the

intervened organisations since the VSM identifies shortcomings or dysfunctions at the metasystem

(which includes people that are generally responsible for bringing about transformation and change) —

if they feel threated, these people might not cooperate, ignore the recommendations or even work against

the intervention process.

Finally, there are a various learning obstacles, namely related to the lack of availability of resources

both for beginners and for practitioners (a circumstance only made more relevant taking into account

the afore-mentioned description of the model as complex and not easily accessible to the non-initiated).

This Literature Review formed the foundation for the empirical investigation that is presented in the

following sections. On one hand, it was essential to confirm the soundness of the premise of the

dissertation research — that the VSM is a powerful and valid framework for business transformation.

On the other, it helped in delineating the boundary of the investigation by identifying what themes were

worthy of being pursued, and that might possibly help in explaining the reasons behind why the

awareness and practice of the VSM is not more widespread.


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3 METHODOLOGY AND METHODS

3.1 Introduction

The selected data collection method to support the research was interviewing. The Literature Review

helped in ascertaining which topics seemed more pertinent to investigate, and the interviews sought to

gather possible explanations and solutions regarding the research questions.

3.2 The opportunity sample

Data was collected by carrying out 11 convenience-sampled interviews with professionals experienced

in the use of the VSM. The researcher purposefully decided to include a range of participants whose

background varied from a close connection to the academia to practitioners whose main association to

the VSM is through practical application, namely in a consultancy context. Through this selection

criteria, the researcher aimed at collecting data that would be representative of the social system under

analysis. By including individuals from the academia and practitioner communities, one group was left

out — the beneficiaries of the services (e.g. managers within organisations). However, given the insider

knowledge acquired by the practitioners regarding that group, it was deemed that a deep understanding

of the challenges faced by those individuals regarding the VSM would be sufficiently explored.

3.3 Data collection

The research was conducted over the period of two weeks in August 2016. The interviews, lasting an

average of 50 minutes, were recorded with the consent of the participants, and the interviewees were

assured that they would remain anonymous. This was particularly important since, besides being

considered good practice (Robson, 2011), the researcher wanted to ensure that relevant information

would be provided about the real practices in the industry and the academia, as well as the reasons that

might explain them.

The format of the interview was semi-structured, following a set of pre-defined topics (Robson, 2011).

The topics were approached mostly by posing questions, although the interviewees were allowed to

diverge, to a certain extent, through thinking by association. The researcher decided to choose

interviewing, as well as this particular format, since this data collection method allowed to investigate

the research questions while at the same time being flexible enough to enable new facts, theories and

other relevant information to emerge. An effort was made to, as much as possible, avoid a lack of

standardisation through the utilisation of the mentioned pre-defined topics and key questions (Robson,

2011) and biases were, as much as possible, prevented by avoiding leading questions.


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3.4 Data analysis strategies

The analysis of the data collected through the interviewing process was performed through thematic

coding (Robson, 2011). The bibliographical research conducted to develop the Literature Review was

fundamental for the generation of initial codes, which included specific acts or behaviours; activities;

strategies, practices and tactics; and meanings (Robson, 2011).

Through thematic coding, the researcher was able to analyse the codes that were identified through the

interviewing process — both pertaining to expected topics originating from the initial codes, but also

new ones created from the information provided by the interviewees — and to collate them into themes.

The researcher was particularly focused on the identification of repetitions, similarities and differences

among the information provided, as well as material related to the previously devised conceptual

framework (Ryan and Bernard, 2003).

Despite the existence of various other approaches to the analysis of qualitative data, thematic coding

presented itself as the most suitable. This was the case especially due to the possibility of clearly

identifying certain themes and key questions that had arisen as a result of the bibliographic research

process and matching them with the data that emerged from the interviews.

3.5 Data collection limitations

The main limitations regarding the collection of empirical data was related to the quality and quantity

of the opportunity sample.

Regarding the quality of the opportunity sample, it could be argued that, since the interviewees were

selected for their experience in the use of the VSM, they might represent a biased group with a personal

preference for this particular framework. However, it was considered that this possibility would not

affect the research, since the research questions of this dissertation project are particularly concerned

with diffusion issues. These topics were approached with as much objectivity as possible, by posing

questions that tried to determine specific activities, behaviours and reactions regarding the perceived

barriers to diffusion, as well as numerical estimates regarding how widespread the interviewees

considered the awareness of the VSM to be.

In terms of quantity, due to the chosen format of interviewing, only a relatively small number of

interviews could be conducted, and a small sample is generally unlikely to be representative of a


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particular population. For this reason, despite the size limitation, the opportunity sample was gathered

in a way to include: individuals from various professional fields; with different levels of experience; and

with distinct familiarity levels regarding the VSM, as well as its history and development. This approach

was considered to have provided a rich picture of the general population.


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4 RESULTS

4.1 Introduction

The interviews provided a number of insights about the perspectives that the communities that know

and apply the VSM have regarding the usefulness of the framework, as well as the perceived barriers to

its diffusion. The diverse background and experience of the participants allowed to acquire a varied pool

of insights, especially since the participants ranged from those with closer ties to the academic world to

those with, fundamentally, a practitioner type of experience.

The collected data is presented below. Since the results mirrored, to a certain extent, the findings of the

Literature Review, this section is purposefully structured in a similar way. However, after covering the

topics comprised in the Literature Review, this section covers additional themes that make the most of

the chosen research method. The interviewing process allowed to explore real-world issues related to

how the VSM fits within the academic world, the consultancy industry, and society in this day and age

(socio-economic environment, technology and education considerations).

4.2 Benefits

The whole group of interviewees was unanimous regarding the validity of the VSM. The specific

applications would vary according to the profession or field of the interviewee, but all of them were

aligned in terms of the effectiveness and the benefits they are able to draw from it. However, they also

recognised that it could be challenging to convey those benefits to other people:

If you actually want to address more people, you have got to show how relevant it is to them, so

developing case studies, developing approaches for specific groups of people and answering their

problems (…), "so what" — if it doesn’t solve people's problems, most managers aren't interested.

(Interviewee 6)

4.3 Validity

In line with the above-mentioned difficulty regarding the benefits, presenting the VSM as a valid and

proven framework was described as troublesome. The main reasons behind it seem to be the lack of

representative evidence from outside the academic world:

And cases — just real-world examples written up, so people can go “Oh, yeah, that worked in

my sector, with my problem” because most people without that (…) evidence won't touch


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anything new, it's too risky (…). There's not enough case material, there's not good enough

evidence that it works (…). There's academic, but the practitioner stuff isn't strong enough.

(Interviewee 9)

And, in the same sense:

It would be nice to get a major application where we can say (…) took a really big company

and we changed it [through an intervention using the VSM]. (Interviewee 8)

4.4 Application issues

4.4.1 Linguistic

Terminology

All the interviewees mentioned how language could be an issue, especially referring to the language

that Stafford Beer used in the original publications. Some interviewees pointed out that, regardless the

perceived complexity of the VSM, the manner in which it was presented could be more daunting then

the framework itself:

I think Stafford Beer, he wrote it really complicated — he wasn't talking to the common man,

he was talking to highly academic people. That's a problem if you want to understand something

if the language and the concept of it gets more confusing that the actual method. (Interviewee

11)

As a result, the vast majority revealed that they would bridge that gap by adapting the terminology and

the explanation of the basic concepts of the model, on a case-by-case basis:

I will ask them to provide their own interpretation (…) — put your own names. (…) For instance,

in one case, they explained the VSM as someone riding a bicycle. (Interviewee 2)

Graphical representation

Besides the language used in the context of the VSM, the graphical representation was also mentioned

as one of the main challenges regarding the model:


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One of the problems of the VSM, particularly in the standard model, is that it comes in as being

too abstract. (Interviewee 1)

Often the representations used were taken from the original drawing, which the interviewees considered

dated and unappealing:

The diagram of the VSM, people look at it and go "I don't want to look at that", if there was as

more user-friendly kind of diagram, (…) I think that might help it be more accepted.

(Interviewee 7)

In addition, a few of the interviewees referred specifically to the issue of a perceived hierarchical

relationship among systems of the model. However, they added that this misunderstanding was,

generally, easy to overcome:

There is a topology to it, and System 5 looks like it's on top of System 1. And lots of people have

tried circular models and changing it from vertical to horizontal (…) but in the end I'm happy

to say that you only have to spend a couple of minutes thinking about the brain's control of the

heart, and you don't have a command and control relationship with your heart — you can’t say,

okay, I'm going to pump it 60 beats a minute and now I'll do 90, it doesn't work like that. (…)

you can get all these ideas over quite easily. (Interviewee 8)

Finally, a couple of the interviewees referred to the recursive nature of the model as an issue, as well as

its dynamic nature and implicit functioning:

The recursive structure is very difficult for lots of people (…) from a modelling point of view it

requires you to be able to think three-dimensionally and most people cannot think three

dimensionally. (…) The whole issue around complexity and variety in the model is hidden, and

the tooling around that is awful (…) (Interviewee 9)

4.4.2 Methodological

When asked about how they chose their practices to obtain the information and insights they needed to

apply the VSM, all the interviewees mentioned specific techniques. However, there was either no

mention of a specific existing methodology or it was explained as resulting from acquired personal

experience.


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After explaining how he had devised a mapping of the tools he could use as the situation required, one

of the interviewees remarked:

But, unfortunately, a lot of it is judgement and experience and that takes a long time to build.

(Interviewee 1)

A few of the interviewees pointed out that this was one of the reasons behind the difficulty in the learning

process and subsequent application of the model:

One is methodology, so techniques for doing X, you know? (…) So you have to do "method"

before lots of people can use it. (…) Most people don't learn concepts — they learn by following

a method, and if they haven't got a method they can't learn it. (Interviewee 9)

According to some of the participants, the explanations behind the insufficient practical knowledge

available in terms of methodology was the result of this knowhow not being imparted in courses that

teach the VSM, and from the lack of sharing within the VSM community, as will be further explored

below:

I think that's what all the courses miss, I think it's a massive, massive gap — the "how to". (…)

and people are reluctant to share that because there's so few people who actually do well and

use it. A lot of people like it, and a lot of people talk about it, but not a lot of people go out and

actually use it. (Interviewee 7)

And:

Having more user-experience approach when you do conferences, thinking more about not just

doing a conference to talk about a case, but doing more "we use this method to achieve it".

(Interviewee 11)

4.4.3 Political

The majority of the interviewees mentioned the particular challenge that the application of the VSM

could face when dealing with issues of power within organisations:


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People want to hold on to their power — and the VSM is a challenge to their power (…) and I

think that's half the reason why they don't want things exposed because, the minute that they do,

they start to lose their power. (Interviewee 7)

The diagnostic nature of the VSM and its capacity to reveal lack of communication, imbalances and

mismanagement was identified by the interviewees as a perceived threat to power and the status quo:

(…) [the VSM] it will expose things that nobody in an organisation wants exposed, so (…)

people are a little bit frightened of it — I think that the word "fear” is something that comes up

in my mind over and over again as a barrier. (Interviewee 7)

And one of the interviewees put it best using an idiom:

There's a famous English expression which is (…) "never expect someone to get it, if their job,

their status or their income depends on not getting it". (Interviewee 1)

Besides the power issue, the VSM might also face culture-related challenges. This can be a consequence,

for example, of the necessary resources bargaining and planning that is supposed to occur as a two-sided

conversation instead of blindly imposed by the management:

But this whole thing about the leap from saying “Okay, I'm in middle management and now

[after the VSM intervention] I'm providing a service to the people underneath me and I need to

respond to their needs rather than just tell them what to do every day” — it's a big change for

a lot of people. (Interviewee 8)

As well as an effect of the distribution of power and, inevitably, responsibility:

[narrating the reaction of a participant that had taken a workshop conducted by the

interviewee] One woman said: “This is awful, I just really hate this. (…) I just want to come in

to work, do what I'm told and go home. I don't want any autonomy.” (Interviewee 8)

4.5 Different thinking approaches (linear vs systemic thinking)

The majority of the interviewees reported a still prevalent tendency for organisations to function in terms

of linear thinking and to resist to holistic approaches:


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(…) the cultural blind spot is to do with the fact that everybody tries to go about doing things

on the assumption that an organisation is a kind of machine, is kind of mechanistic. (Interviewee

3)

The resistance or rejection of models that are able to represent more sophisticated and complex concepts

(which, in the case of the VSM, translate into a recursive model) is also an issue:

The idea of fractality still worries a lot of people in my field, they still want to have single layer

models that are non-fractal. (Interviewee 1)

4.6 Learning obstacles

A large number of interviewees, especially those more connected to training and education, reported a

number of issues in this respect. The complex nature of the model was very often mentioned as a reason

why availability and quality of learning is paramount:

(…) considered complex (…), and to actually be a relational and a recursive model is

considered quite challenging by a lot of people. (Interviewee 5)

Many of the interviewees expressed their feelings regarding how a natural aptitude of people towards a

more linear or systemic kind of thinking could explain the learning difficulties that some people faced:

Examples of people in academia in a university who taught the VSM as part of an MBA and

who discovered that half the people took it on board and understood it and thought it was good,

and half of the people just didn't get it — so I think there's a 50/50 in terms of people's thinking

approach, how people think. (Interviewee 4)

Besides any issues with the learning abilities of the students, there were also mentions of issues related

to the provision of training. On one hand, the availability of expert professionals with deep knowledge

of the material was considered vital, while the insufficiency of courses was deemed problematic:

It's hard to get the training and the experience that you need to use it unless you are very close

to people who have a deep understanding, and in the UK there are very few people who have a

deep understanding. (Interviewee 6)

And:


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The lack of really short-courses and training sessions (…), there are no small snippets of days

of VSM — it's either an academic course or nothing, so there is no infrastructure to support

anybody who is starting to go on the journey. (Interviewee 7)

Within the context of organisational learning, to the issue of availability of courses and training, an

added pressure was reported by one of the interviewees — the risk of investing in the trainings and then

not having further support:

People in the organisations, I think, find it difficult to engage with it because there are very few

short-courses for them to do, they don't want to enter into a big academic course and they

always say to me "Where can we get a one-off course to learn this ", and then when I've done

one for them they said "We're a little bit frightened of using it moving forward in case we get

stuck and we don't know who [will be there] to help us". (Interviewee 7)

With the added apprehension of becoming dependent on external consultants whose only concern is to

cross-sell training programs:

The impression that some organisations get is that consultants like to use things that are so

complex that only they can understand them so that then you have to keep bringing them back.

And they don't want to (…) start that because then they feel like they are dependent on them

long term. (Interviewee 7)

4.7 Complex framework

The matter of the intrinsic complexity of the VSM was mentioned by the majority of the interviewees,

which did not meet the unrealistic expectations of some practitioners or their clients:

I think it's hard — it's much harder than things like McKinseys' 7-S. (…) For some reason (…)

people expect it to be easy. (…) I have got clients (…) that work in IT and if they're doing

something that is IT-related they expect it to be incredibly complex (…) and to be able to talk

about it in incredible detail. When it comes to redesigning the organisation they expect to be

able to just do it on the back of an envelope. (Interviewee 9)


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The inherent complexity of the framework has implications in the willingness of clients to accept an

intervention where the VSM is used, since requires a certain investment, whether financial or of other

nature:

Mostly because it is too complex as a theory. Consultants like simple things and business men

in particular they like to issue like a recipe, and the VSM doesn't work as a recipe. [It] takes

time, a lot of energy, lot of interaction — if you do it properly, you need to engage the people

in the VSM diagnosis from the beginning and that takes a lot of learning — so let's say that it is

more complex and expensive (putting time and money) way of intervention in an organisation.

So any other thing that you do in an organisation — a Balanced Scorecard, a strategic planning

process or whatever — is easier than doing the VSM. (Interviewee 10)

4.8 The politics of the VSM

4.8.1 Academia

There was another field in which politics issues were mentioned — within the systems community itself,

namely in the academic context:

VSM was side-lined in the systems community. (…) It took a long time to get VSM onto the

[UNIVERSITY A] courses, that was the way to get it more accepted in the systems community.

(Interviewee 9)

One of the reasons provided to explain this situation is the market itself:

Because everything is very market driven — and the market is very driven by standards — and

the standards still don't see the value of this kind of things, then those in academic positions

(…) are going to be trying to stop anything that is too different. (Interviewee 10)

4.8.2 Consultancies

Besides the issues that the model faces in the context of academia, there are a number of challenges

within the practitioner community as well. On one hand, there is the circumstance of the VSM not being

useful as a selling proposition:


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It's very difficult from a consultant point-of-view because when you put in a bid for a piece of

work, you've got to sell yourself — so if you're trying to sell the VSM and nobody knows what it

is, you never get your bid accepted so you never even step foot in the organisation. (Interviewee

7)

On the other hand, there is little awareness of the existence of the model within the consultant

community itself:

(…) probably because very few know about it. Most of the people working in this area are in

big consultancies, they all have their own methodologies based in traditional business school

methods — VSM is not part of that. (Interviewee 6)

Finally, it was mentioned that some consultancies that use the VSM see it as a trade secret through which

they believe to retain a competitive advantage:

The other reason the VSM hasn't been hasn't been disseminated more is because the VSM has

been immensely valuable for a very small group of VSM consultants — the VSM is their secret

knowledge, they are not going to publicise it and they are not going to demonstrate it or make

it too obvious their methodologies or their tools, because (…) their knowledge is too precious

and they don't want to share it. So many interesting applications are not in the public domain.

(Interviewee 10)

4.9 Diffusion considerations

A number of interviewees were of the opinion that the present moment could represent a moment of

transition regarding the awareness and use of the VSM from a niche type of knowledge into a more

widespread audience. One of the main reasons that was mentioned was a general shift of people and

organisations towards a more systemic thinking approach. The causes for this shift are explored below.

4.9.1 External environment

There was a general sense that changes in the conditions of the external environment and the way that

society has been adapting to them have had an influence in people’s thinking:

I think the ideas have just seeped in to the collective consciousness. Complexity and systems ideas

— it's not such a shock to the thinking. (…) And if you think about management techniques, they're

all still based on linear causality, and people have moved. (Interviewee 9)


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One of the reasons presented for this change has to do with the current socio-economic situation that

people, companies and organisations have had to face in recent years:

I think with the financial problems the country has had for the last 5 or 6 years, we have seen an

increased interest and there is no doubt that when the economy is in a mess, more people are

interested in this sort of solution. (Interviewee 6)

Although the perceptions of the interviewees were generally cautions, and not overly optimistic:

The crises that we are hitting are such that people will realise that this knowledge is valuable and

needed to solve the world's problems (…) I suspect that we're going to have to see more crises

before that is generally recognised. (Interviewee 3)

The change in the way that people and organisations function and coordinate themselves, and the rise

of holacracy were also mentioned:

I think what's going to happen is that there will be quite dramatic changes in the way we

organise ourselves in all sorts of different contexts, particularly in institutions and business,

and Stafford's work at some point, I believe, will become recognised as the most comprehensive

theory which says “if you want to organise yourself on the basis of self-organising, creative,

empowered, unleashed human beings, instead of cogs in the machine doing exactly what they're

told, than you need a new theory”. (Interviewee 8)

4.9.2 Technology

Technological advancements were regarded as another potential source of change:

Blockchain technology (…) I think there is an appetite in communities like that and that is where

it will get adopted and it will be adopted with the creation of a new form of enterprise that will

effective replace the corporate bureaucratic organisations that we are familiar with now and it

will grow up from a new kind of eco-system (…) re-thinking money, re-thinking what an

enterprise consists of. (Interviewee 3)

4.9.3 Education


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Finally, it was commented that education and the inclusion of courses related to systems in general, and

those that included the VSM in particular, could represent another reason behind the mentioned shift:

It may be [that] the courses like the UNIVERSITY A have pursued with it for a number of years

now, (…) it was new then, now it's regular and it's ongoing — so the first people coming through

are spreading that word of mouth, others are coming on board now, so I think that kind of

academic accessibility is helping. (Interviewee 7)

4.9.4 Crossing the chasm?

All of the interviewees agreed that the people who were aware of the existence of the VSM, in any of

their given fields (which included academic and consultant roles related to, namely, enterprise

architecture, organisational design and transformation, knowledge management, and IT governance)

were relatively small — no more than 5%:

The wider industry probably doesn’t know that the VSM exists (…), all the big consultancies

they have not a single clue of what the VSM is. (Interviewee 2)

In turn, when asked about the number of practitioners, in any of the given fields of the various

interviewees, the provided estimate was lower still, with 2% being the highest figure but mostly closer

to 1%:

Somehow it never generated a big enough movement like, for example, Lean or Agile.

(Interviewee 5)

Despite these reduced numbers regarding awareness and use of the framework, the reasons such as the

above-mentioned lead to the feeling by a few of the interviewees that the VSM might now in a

transitional period where it could break through to a more widespread audience. A couple of them

specifically considered that this stage might correspond to the crossing the chasm phase as presented by

Geoffrey Moore (1999):

We probably are just passing the chasm in the moment, we've had the Early Adopters, (…) we're

moving into a world where the people (…) would not describe themselves as systems thinkers,

[and yet] they want to know what systems and VSM can do for them and I think that is the other

side of the chasm, and we're trying to commoditise, (…) we want to be able to offer things that

people can take way and use. (Interviewee 6)


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4.10 Conclusion

The empirical data acquired through the interviewing process revealed a number of insights that will be

explored in the Discussion section below and which serve as basis for the findings of this Dissertation.

It should be noted that besides their perspectives regarding barriers to the diffusion of the VSM, the

interviewees were also prompted to present solutions of how they might be overcome. Some of these

suggestions will be presented in the Discussion section and considered within its context.


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5 DISCUSSION

5.1 Introduction

This section presents an analysis of the results of the interviews, by considering how they relate with

the research questions and by exploring them in light of the insights presented by some interviewees.

As a result of those insights, the Diffusion of Innovation theory (Rogers, 2003) is be used as a platform

for the discussion.

Thus, the identified potential barriers that might be preventing the dissemination of the awareness and

use of the VSM are analysed in context of the characteristics that affect the rate of diffusion. Finally,

attention is given to two of the factors that must be considered regarding the diffusion of innovation —

social system and communication channels.

The results of the conducted interviews were overwhelmingly aligned with the findings of the Literature

Review. This was the case regarding the benefits and validity of the VSM, but also in terms of the

perceived challenges that the VSM faces and that could be preventing its diffusion towards a more

widespread audience, which ranged from application issues, through different thinking approaches, to

learning obstacles. However, the interviewees also provided insights into the politics of the VSM and

also presented their considerations regarding the current stage of the VSM in terms of diffusion. Those

barriers and considerations are analysed below.

5.2 The VSM in the Diffusion of Innovation Lifecycle

During the preparation of this dissertation, it became apparent that the question regarding the

dissemination of the VSM would be more fittingly posed in the context of a theory of diffusion.

Although this perspective did not emerge during the Literature Review, a few of the interviewees

provided their perspective in this sense. In their view, it could be the case that, considering the awareness

of the VSM in the context of Rogers’ theory of the diffusion of innovations, the VSM could be moving

disseminating from the (current) Early Adopters, and crossing Moore’s Chasm (as will be further

explained below).

Rogers (2003) identified five categories of adopters, named after their willingness to adopt an innovation

or new idea — as seen below in Figure 2. Additionally, he considers that four factors must be taken into

account in terms of diffusion — the innovation in question, a social system, communication channels,

and time. For the purpose of this dissertation, the idea under consideration is, naturally, the VSM; the

social system in question includes individuals that range from those that are interested in the VSM from


27

a theoretical point of view to those that are interested in its practical application; the communication

channels, which include mass media and interpersonal communication, are more deeply analysed below.

According to the information presented by the interviewees, the extent to which individuals are aware

and use the VSM is quite low, and it was argued that those individuals would be Early Adopters within

Rogers’ Innovation Adoption Lifecycle.

Figure 2: Adopter Categorisation on the Basis of Innovativeness (Rogers, 2003)

In Rogers’s words, this means that the innovation in question in not being yet transmitted throughout its

social system. However, as previously pointed out, the interviewees also mentioned that they felt that it

could be case that the awareness of the VSM might now be in a transitional stage that precedes the

dissemination of an innovation towards the Early Majority, and which Geoffrey Moore described as

“crossing the chasm” (Moore, 1999), represented in Figure 3, below:


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Figure 3: Moore’s Chasm (Barker, 2011)

According to Moore (1999), this is a transitioning stage between Early Adopters and Early Majority

that, if not successfully crossed, will mean that the idea or product will die out or remain niche. In terms

of the VSM, this would mean that VSM needs to align to those needs and wants of the individuals and

companies that compose the Early Majority: solutions and convenience.

5.3 The VSM and the characteristics that affect the rate of diffusion

Taking these considerations further, this dissertation analyses the diffusion process of the VSM using

Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations theory (Rogers, 2003), and reflects throughout the remaining of this

section about the diffusion rate dependencies that might affect the VSM.

Rogers (2003) identified a number of factors that characterise the rate of diffusion of an innovation or

idea. From those, this Dissertation focuses on the most relevant ones considering the data gathered about

the VSM: (1) perceived relative advantage or benefit, (2) riskiness of purchase, (3) ease of use —

Complexity, (4) immediacy of the benefits, (5) observability, (6) price, (7) extent of behavioural changes

required. This dissertation will examine the results of the literature research and the interviews research

in light of these characteristics.

Perceived advantage or benefit

The empirical data overwhelmingly confirms that the VSM is an effective framework to conduct

organisational diagnosis and assist in business transformation, and this is line with the existing literature.


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Moreover, researchers have tested the VSM and reported the obtained results in academic essays

confirming its benefits and validity regarding other methods, so it could be argued that there is a

perceived relative advantage in comparison to other approaches.

However, the undertaken research revealed that the perception of these benefits and advantages seem to

be mostly circumscribed to the academic circles. Suggestions proposed by the interviewees to overcome

this situation include publicising evidence and results of successful interventions using the VSM, and

especially involving recognisable companies or brands.

Riskiness of purchase

The adoption of innovations with a low risk is considered easier, since the consequences of a failed

implementation will carry less losses (Meyer and Goes, 1988). This characteristic is particularly

connected to the complexity of the innovation — which will be discussed below — but this dissertation

has already concluded how, so far, the VSM has been a framework that demands high knowledge

requirements. These include learning the model, understanding the cybernetic mechanisms that underpin

it, and acquiring practical knowledge through practical application.

As such, and as remarked by one interviewee, organisations are apprehensive to commit to a framework

that they feel that they might not master completely, and are concerned about the risk of becoming

dependent on consultants that charge them high fees whenever they require help. This consideration

makes the adoption of the VSM carry a substantial risk, financial and otherwise.

It should be noted that high knowledge requirements do not mean, automatically, that an innovation will

not be adopted, provided the existence, namely, of support either from previous adopters or assured by

other sources (Aubert and Hamel, 2001). However, as it was noted by some of the interviewees,

supporting institutions seem to be either few or non-existent, therefore, not providing a significant

attenuation of the above-mentioned risk.

Ease of use — complexity

According to Rogers, complexity concerns how the innovation is perceived as being easy to understand

and put to use (Rogers, 2003). Regarding this topic, a number of things deserve attention in the context

of the VSM, since various of the analysed issues are directly or indirectly related this subject, namely:

the linguistic aspects of the VSM, the learning difficulties, and the methodological challenges.


30

The findings from the literature and the empirical data regarding the issues about the linguistic

challenges were largely aligned. The original work of Beer was generally considered not easily

accessible, especially for the non-initiated, both in terms of the terminology used and illustrations

provided. Thus, it could be inferred that a breakthrough in terms of the presentation and representation

of the VSM, especially making use of the latest technologies and computer software, is yet to be found.

In this context, potential solutions suggested included the adaptation of the terminology as a technique

to make it more accessible, to the creation of more modern and appealing graphical representations,

including through the use of computer animation.

This situation seems to be closely related to the learning obstacles. As revealed by the literature research

and confirmed by the interviewees, there is lack of appropriate material for beginners, as well as a

scarcity of methodological literature to aid in the conduction of a VSM intervention. There are some

papers that provide some suggestions and contribute with practical ideas, but these remain within the

circumscription of research work and the academia. The empirical data not only confirmed this lacking

regarding the available literature or the insufficiency of practical manuals, but extended it to the

insufficiency of workshops, short-courses and institutional support that allows organisations not to

become dependent on external consultancy intervention if they decide to make use of the VSM and

require help along the way.

This indicates that, despite some advances, there is still space for further development within the

academic research in this area and, especially, that more development in terms of methodology is vital

for the practitioner community to become more engaged and confident regarding the application of the

VSM. Potential solutions might include, as suggested: more institutions providing training by experts

and support on the use of the VSM; the creation of books and practical manuals that present step-by-

step methodologies to the use of the VSM; and the development of tools (conceptual and perhaps

technological) to aid in VSM interventions.

Immediacy of benefits

One revealing aspect observed during the dissertation’s collection of empirical data was that most of the

interviewees argued that it took them several years to fully master the VSM — adding that with each

application they would acquire new insights. These statements indicate that the VSM has an overall

steep learning curve — as might be expected of a framework that, as was explained above, is complex

and requires application experience to acquire a deep understanding.


31

However, the majority of the interviewees reported that, after understanding the basic concepts behind

the framework, it would provide them with almost immediate insights that they could benefit from in

real-world applications. As such, the interviewees advocated as well the immediacy of benefits that the

VSM can provide.

Observability

According to Rogers (2003, p. 16), observability consists in “the degree to which the results of an

innovation are visible to others”. There are some examples that illustrate the legitimacy and benefits of

the VSM by referring to more relatable applications, such as a NASA project (Woodman and Krasa,

2016). However, these are retrospective analysis that consider how the cases align with the principles

and framework of the VSM and, as such, the VSM was not the framework used to design or diagnose

the organisations from the beginning. As a result, according to the interviewees, these cases do not

inspire a considerable level of confidence in potential adopters regarding the results that these examples

claim that the VSM is capable of.

Hence the point made by some of the interviewees regarding the importance of developing case studies,

presentations and papers to showcase the unique selling proposition of the VSM and the added-value it

can bring, especially with high-profile companies and organisations.

Extent of behavioural changes required

Two different considerations can be made regarding this aspect — one about the opposition of linear

and systemic types of thinking; and another about the politics of organisations.

Regarding the first aspect, the linear type of thinking that became a legacy of the industrial age

management, according to both the literature and the interviews, is still very much prevalent within the

management field. However, as previously mentioned, the VSM is a framework that aids in the design

and the diagnosis of organisations through a systemic approach. In the case of an individual with a linear

type of thinking, a changing mental frameworks could be regarded as a required change of behaviour

(albeit, a mental or psychological one).

Regarding the second aspect, several of the interviewees testified how the politics in an organisation

could present a challenge. When the purpose of using the VSM is to effect some kind of change in an

organisation, undertaking the transformation process itself is where the crux of the matter often lays. In

this context, the challenge that the VSM might pose to the status quo, an issue evidenced both by the


32

Literature Review and the empirical data, might require a considerable change in terms of people’s

behaviour.

Taking both aspects above into consideration, a number of interviewees argued that it could be difficult

or even, in some cases, impossible to implement a transformation based on the use of the VSM without

undertaking some sort of organisational culture change as well.

5.4 Social system

As mentioned before, in addition to the above-analysed attributes, the rate of diffusion of an innovation

also depends on the social systems. Rogers (2003) states that a social system is defined by external

factors (such as mass media) and internal factors (such as interpersonal relationships and distance from

though leaders). These aspects are further explored below.

Regarding the participants of a social system, Rogers (2003) uses the concept of homophily to describe

essentially similar people (in terms of values, social status, etc.). Although the transfer of ideas is easier

between homophilous individuals, the author explains that a certain degree of heterophily is required

for real diffusion to exist (otherwise, no novel concepts would actually be exchanged). As such, the ideal

situation, according to Rogers, would be for the individuals in question to be homophilous in every

aspect, except regarding the new concept. In the context of the VSM, there seem to be a number of

heterophilous participants that compose the social system, namely, the individuals that belong to the

academia, the practitioner community, and the organisations themselves that might benefit from the use

of the VSM.

Additionally, a social system is impacted by the social structure of that system — the “patterned

arrangements of the units in a system” (Rogers, 2003, p.24). In the context of the VSM, one significant

observation that emerged from the empirical data was that the existence of academic papers attesting

the benefits and validity of the VSM does not automatically translate into a general awareness and use

of the same. This circumstance make apparent that not only the academic and the practitioner

communities do not always overlap, but that sometimes there is even a disconnect between one and the

other.

5.5 Communication channels


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Regarding the communication channels, this discussion considers the VSM in the context of some of

the main factors that influence the participants of a social system: mass media, opinion leaders and

interpersonal channels (Rogers, 2003).

The VSM has not had a breakthrough in terms of mass media, as follows from the research presented

above. The production of knowledge — both in terms of developing the understanding and

interpretations of the existing literature and regarding the creation of new knowledge — seems to be

fundamentally circumscribed to the academia. Furthermore, the empirical data revealed that the

development of knowledge within the academia is not enough to disseminate the ideas regarding the

VSM. As suggested by some of the interviewees, there is a need to develop more books and manuals

directed towards a wider audience, both in terms of style and type of publication. An interviewee even

suggested the need for a VSM for Dummies, or a work along the lines of the Business Model Canvas

(Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010).

Regarding opinion leaders, these can play in important role in the evaluation step of the decision-making

process, as they often possess considerable social and media exposure, and exert a certain amount of

influence over other members of a social system (Rogers, 2003). Regarding this aspect, it was reported

by one of the interviewees that there are very few individual ambassadors for the VSM, and that more

are needed to spread awareness about the framework in a convincing and meaningful way.

Finally, the interpersonal channels hold a considerable importance in terms of dissemination of ideas,

especially at the level of the persuasion phase of decision-making (Rogers, 2003). In this sense, Parisot

(1997) highlights peer observation as a crucial factor in encouraging individuals to adopt a new idea and

contribute to its diffusion. The empirical data reveals a lacking in this aspect, and the interviewees even

presented suggestions such as encouraging consultants and companies that use the VSM to share this

fact.

5.6 Conclusion

The research questions that directed this dissertation were provided with answers successively, firstly

by the Literature Review and secondly through confirmation presented by the empirical data. The

interviewing process contributed decisively to forward the research into the context of Rogers’ diffusion

of innovation theory, which allowed to acquire a deeper understanding of the main drivers of this

Dissertation: understanding not only what barriers the VSM possesses that might be preventing its

dissemination, but also how can those barriers be contextualised in terms of a diffusion theory.


34

The benefits and validity of the VSM identified earlier in the Literature Review were overwhelmingly

confirmed by the empirical data. In the same way, issues that could present a barrier to the diffusion of

the VSM were also corroborated by the interviewees. Following insights of some of the interviewees,

this Dissertation explored the awareness of the VSM within the context of Rogers’ theory of the

diffusion of innovation (Rogers, 2003) and analysed the characteristics that the diffusion of the VSM

might be dependent on.

Regarding how the VSM withstands facing the characteristics upon which diffusion is dependent, the

following was found: despite the perceived advantages of the VSM, these are mostly kept within

academic circles and not disseminated towards the practitioner community; the high knowledge

requirements of learning the VSM and the fear that organisations have of becoming dependent of

consultants make its adoption a high risk one; the linguistic aspects, the learning obstacles and the lack

of methodological do not contribute to make easier a framework that is, intrinsically, considered

complex; however, despite its complexity, it was also concluded that in spite of taking years to master

completely, almost immediate benefits could be drawn from the framework; the results of the VSM

were found not be widely visible to the general social system, being mostly confined to the academia;

finally, it was learned that the VSM may require a considerable extent of behavioural changes.

Additionally, the social system of the VSM was found to be disconnected when considering the

relationships between the academia and the practitioner communities. In the context of the

communication channels, knowledge production was observed to be mostly circumscribed to the

academia, and not flowing towards mass media channels of management and organisational design;

finally, there seems to be an absence of individual ambassadors and opinion leaders; and the

interpersonal channels seem to be somewhat lacking.

From the considerations above, it can be concluded that, regardless of its value, the VSM is still mostly

characterised by conditions that contribute to a slow rate of diffusion. Furthermore, it is important to

consider the concerns of participants of a social system before and after the chasm: while Early Adopters

focus on performance, the Early Majority seeks solutions and convenience. From the analysis above it

could be concluded that the way that the VSM is mostly presented and taught today, is still far from a

perfected solution: a VSM framework made simple to understand and easy to implement, with an

adequate price in relation to other propositions, and that is distributed efficiently through the right

channels.


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6 CONCLUSIONS

6.1 Introduction

The benefits and the validity of the VSM have been examined and documented throughout several

decades, particularly in the context of academic research. For this reason, the main question that drove

this Dissertation was the following — if a tool is deemed to have great value and has been proven

effective, why is it not used or even known by a majority of professionals to whom it would be relevant?

Although several papers and essays have mentioned characteristics and barriers that might provide some

explanations, the question of its diffusion has not been address in itself in a research project. As such,

this research presents a novel contribution on several levels: the conduction of interviews with

individuals connected to the VSM from a multiplicity of contexts and with different levels of experience

— providing a rich picture of the real-word perception of the framework and of the obstacles faced

regarding its learning and application; the analysis of the VSM and its surrounding context, in light of

the characteristics of the rate of diffusion as presented by Rogers; finally, given the emphasis given to

the aspects related to issue of diffusion, the findings obtained in this research project might allow to

provide insights to other frameworks or models, both in terms of understanding their state in the

diffusion lifecycle and in terms of the strategies that might be worth pursuing to allow them to improve

their diffusion rate.

Through the conducted research, this dissertation found that the majority of the characteristics of the

VSM upon which the rate of diffusion is dependent still conform to those that preclude what is necessary

to cross Moore’s Chasm — and act, at this stage, mostly as barriers to diffusion. However, this

dissertation also covers, through the suggestions presented by the interviewees, a number of changes

and improvements that could be undertaken, as well as the circumstances that the participants of the

social system could focus on in order to allow for diffusion to occur faster, or to even fulfil those

conditions necessary to cross the Chasm.

In terms of suggestions for further research, it might be interesting to obtain empirical data from other

groups of people, since this would allow to amplify the sample pool. Additionally, case studies focusing

specifically on each of the analysed characteristics of diffusion and put them to the test might provide

with further insights regarding how they could be overcome.

The VSM is a powerful tool for the diagnosis and design of organisations. Its awareness and use is still

not widely disseminated, even though it would arguably be highly beneficial to a large number of

organisations. This Dissertation shows that the VSM possesses a number of characteristics that slow


36

down its rate of diffusion and which have been preventing its dissemination towards a mainstream

audience. However, once those barriers have been identifying and categorised, a path drawn by the

potential solutions becomes apparent. Ultimately, the diffusion of the VSM will depend on the dynamics

of the participants of the social system and the interests and motivations that drive them.


37

7 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would first like to thank my supervisor, Dr Raúl Leal of the Department of Space and Climate Physics

at University College London. His insights and steering questions allowed to me to guide this

Dissertation into a fascinating direction.

I would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution of the interviewees who accepted to take part in

the research, and thank them for taking the time and effort to share their thoughts and experience on the

matter.

Finally, I am grateful to my family, who tolerated periods of less communication during the time of this

MSc, and especially to my wife for providing me with support and inspiration each and every day.


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APPENDICES

Appendix 1 — The Viable System Model (a brief overview)

Appendix 2 — Project Concept Report


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Appendix 1 The Viable System Model (a brief overview)

• Designed to model of the organisational structure of any viable or autonomous system • To illustrate it, Beer used the human nervous system as an example.

Diagram of Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model (Beer, 1979) Model represents: 1 - Blob: Environment 2 - Circle: Primary activities 3 - Square: Management

v System 1 - process operations: primary activities [function that implements at least part of the key transformation of the organisation]

v System 2 – sub-process coordination: information channels and bodies that allow

o the primary activities from System 1 to communicate between each other, and o System 3 to monitor and co-ordinate the activities within System 1. o (think scheduling; allocation of resources, etc.)

v System 3 – management: structures and controls that

o establish the rules, resources, rights and responsibilities of System 1, and o provide an interface with Systems 4/5.


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v System 4 – strategy: o looks outwards to the environment, to o monitor how the organization needs to adapt in order to remain viable.

v System 5 – policy/purpose:

o policy decisions within the organization, to o balance demands from different parts of the organization, and o steer the organization as a whole.

v Algedonic alerts

o from the Greek: pain and pleasure o alarms and rewards that are sent through the various levels of recursion, when

performance fails or exceeds capability.

v Environment: necessary to identify the domain of action of the system. Components of the VSM:

• 5 interacting subsystems • Systems 1-3: here and now • System 4: there and then (strategic responses to the effects of external, environmental and future

demands on the organization) • System 5: balancing the “here and now” with the “there and then” (in order to maintain the

organisation viable)

Conclusion: very comprehensive and holistic model • Consideration of environment • Parts and their Interaction • Information channels and feedback properties to ensure viability

Documents

Barriers to the diffusion of the VSM (Nuno Rosa, 2016)