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<p>Preface ix</p> <p><b>Chapter 1. Introduction: Why Do We Talk About Complexity in Management? 1</b></p> <p>1.1. Examples of complex and/or innovative projects 2</p> <p>1.2. Complex systems, rationality and knowledge 5</p> <p>1.2.1. Outlines of complexity and complex systems 5</p> <p>1.2.2. Information and learning 7</p> <p>1.2.3. Rationality 10</p> <p>1.3. Cognition and the theory of the firm 15</p> <p>1.3.1. Creativity and the evolutionary theory of the firm 17</p> <p>1.3.2. Creativity and knowledge 18</p> <p>1.3.3. Creativity and novelty within a system 20</p> <p>1.4. The entrepreneurial dimension 22</p> <p>1.4.1. The philosophy of effectuation 24</p> <p>1.4.2. Evolutionary models 25</p> <p>1.5. Conclusions 26</p> <p><b>Chapter 2. The Evolution of Complex Systems 29</b></p> <p>2.1. Adaptation, learning and flexibility 30</p> <p>2.2. The nonlinear behavior of “imbalanced” systems 32</p> <p>2.3. Autonomy and responsibility 35</p> <p>2.3.1. A sociological approach to the question of “irresponsible” complex systems 35</p> <p>2.3.2. The role of the leader 36</p> <p>2.4. Different evolutionary models 39</p> <p>2.4.1. The large models inspired by the natural sciences 39</p> <p>2.4.2. Human evolution 41</p> <p>2.4.3. The evolution of economic organizations 42</p> <p>2.4.4. Proactive evolution: from adaptation to exaptation 44</p> <p>2.5. Implications for management 46</p> <p>2.5.1. Thinking in a nonlinear way 46</p> <p>2.5.2. Anticipating breakthroughs 48</p> <p>2.5.3. Managing learning and encouraging agents 50</p> <p>2.6. Closing remarks 52</p> <p><b>Chapter 3. Steering Complex Adaptive Systems: Managing Weak Signals 55</b></p> <p>3.1. Navigating the ocean of signals 57</p> <p>3.1.1. Understanding the nature of the ocean 57</p> <p>3.1.2. Observing the ocean 58</p> <p>3.1.3. Taking a course 64</p> <p>3.1.4. Navigating in symbiosis 67</p> <p>3.2. Managing interdependences and dancing with the system 69</p> <p>3.2.1. The transmission of signals as a creative process: the example of composite materials 71</p> <p>3.2.2. The nonlinear changes at the source of evolution 74</p> <p>3.3. Surfing on the wave 82</p> <p>3.3.1. Preparing the actors means first listening to them 82</p> <p>3.3.2. Choosing the right methods to design a strategy 83</p> <p>3.3.3. Choosing a good steerer 85</p> <p>3.4. Conclusion 97</p> <p><b>Chapter 4. Entrepreneurship, Market Creation and Imagination 99</b></p> <p>4.1. Some current stakes of entrepreneurship 102</p> <p>4.2. The entrepreneur in the history of economic thought 105</p> <p>4.2.1. The entrepreneur, harbinger of decentralized creativity 106</p> <p>4.2.2. The entrepreneur according to Jean-Baptiste Say: the assembler of factors 109</p> <p>4.2.3. The Austrian approach: a form of serendipity within the economic process 110</p> <p>4.2.4. The Schumpeterian approach: from serendipity to creativity 111</p> <p>4.2.5. The entrepreneur as a decision-maker in uncertain situations 114</p> <p>4.2.6. Towards a taxonomy of the entrepreneurial function 116</p> <p>4.3. Motivations, responsibility and identity of the entrepreneur 117</p> <p>4.3.1. The entrepreneur’s responsibility 118</p> <p>4.3.2. The entrepreneur’s identity 119</p> <p>4.3.3. Conclusion on the entrepreneur’s motivations 122</p> <p>4.4. Entrepreneurship and complexity: the role of the imagination 123</p> <p><b>Chapter 5. Managerial Approaches and Theories of the Firm 127</b></p> <p>5.1. Complexity and management: the first steps 130</p> <p>5.2. Manager’s role versus complex systems 132</p> <p>5.3. Marketing and complex systems 134</p> <p>5.3.1. Hypotheses and theories of complex systems 136</p> <p>5.3.2. Four types of complex systems 137</p> <p>5.3.3. Honda and the global automobile market 140</p> <p>5.3.4. Implications for the marketing manager 145</p> <p>5.4. Complex systems and human resource management 146</p> <p>5.4.1. RBV and complex systems 147</p> <p>5.4.2. Strategic human resource management 149</p> <p>5.5. Conclusion: managers’ creative responses 151</p> <p>Conclusion 155</p> <p>References 157</p> <p>Index 173</p>

<p><b>Jean-Alain Héraud</b> is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Strasbourg, France. He is a member of the Bureau d’Economie Théorique et Appliquée, and President of the Association de Prospective Rhénane, which brings together experts in economic and social development in the Upper Rhine region.</p> <p><b>Fiona Kerr</b> is Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide, Australia. An expert in neural and systems complexity, she is also a management consultant for various companies and organizations.</p> <p><b>Thierry Burger-Helmchen</b> is Professor of Management Sciences at the University of Strasbourg, France. He is a member of the Bureau d’Economie Théorique et Appliquée.</p>

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