Think of the square in any neighbourhood. What do you think it was like fifty years ago? A simple place, surrounded by cobblestones and lampposts, where neighbours gathered to chat and shopkeepers offered their wares on market days. Now think of that same square today. It’s probably a much more dynamic space, with outdoor cafés, cultural events and a mix of people of different ages, backgrounds and cultures.
What was once a local meeting point is now a node of global interaction, full of new stories and meanings. The square changed, yes, but it did so in response to the needs and transformations of its surroundings.
Organisations work in a similar way. According to the open systems theory, put forward by the biologist Ludwing von Bertalanffy, any system -be it a square, an ecosystem or a company- evolves in interaction with its environment. Organisations, far from being rigid or isolated entities, are living structures that depend on what’s happening around them to remain relevant, respond to challenges and thrive.
The big question is how to strike this balance between the need to adapt to change and maintain a distinct identity. In this interplay of forces, understanding companies as open systems may be the key to imagining more dynamic models that are ready to face the future.
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The origin of theory: from biology to business
In the mid-20th century, Ludwing von Bertalanffy, an Austrian-born scientist, argued that living organisms could not be understood as isolated entities, but as open systems. In other words, he described how living things constantly interact with their environment, exchanging matter, energy and information to stay alive and adapt to change.
This idea broke with the traditional mechanistic view, which saw organisms as closed, autonomous machines. According to Bertalanffy, the survival of any system was based on its ability to continuously adapt to a changing environment. The key wasn’t just what happened inside, but how it responded to external influences.
“The survival of any system was based on its ability to continuously adapt to a changing environment”.
Over time, this theory transcended the boundaries of biology and began to be applied in other disciplines, such as sociology and psychology. However, it was in the field of business management that it found particularly fertile ground.
Organisations, like living things, operate in changing environments and need to adapt in order to survive and thrive. From this perspective, they’re not rigid structures but dynamic systems that depend on their interaction with external factors such as the market, technology and social changes.
This approach marked a crucial shift in how companies are managed. Instead of seeking completely closed and predictable structures, open systems theory emphasised the importance of flexibility, innovation and real-time responsiveness. How is this achieved? Here’s an explanation:
