Programmes in management and organisation. Observed with social systems theory
This special issue of Management Decision invites submissions that explore how organisational decisions are programmed, structured, and conditioned, by observing the concept of programmes through the lens of Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory.
The issue is inspired by and linked to the 2025 Luhmann Conference on “Programmes. Observed with social systems theory”, which will be held at the University of Cambridge, UK.
The articles in this issue will engage with the idea that modern organisations are not simply reactive entities or purposive machines, but autonomous systems that process environmental demands selectively. Especially welcome are contributions that:
- Analyse how organisations use decision programmes to filter, defer, integrate, or resist competing demands
- Explore how multifunctional organisations (e.g. universities, public agencies, hybrid firms) manage programmes across different function systems
- Reframe the role of strategy, governance, compliance, or innovation as communicatively programmed rather than actor-driven
- Apply systems-theoretical concepts (e.g. decision premises, structural coupling, operational closure) to empirical or theoretical problems in management and organisation studies.
We welcome conceptual, empirical, and methodological papers that examine the programmability of management decisions across diverse organisational contexts.
While this special issue is linked to the Luhmann Conference 2025 in Cambridge, participation in the conference is neither a requirement for submission nor a guarantee of publication in the issue.
List of topic areas
- Management studies
- Organisation studies
- Systems theory
- Decision-making
- Decision programmes
- Management and organisation theory
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here.
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Key deadlines
Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 18/08/2025
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 31/01/2026
Guest editors
Steffen Roth, Excelia Business School, France; University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, roths@excelia-group.com
Augusto Sales, Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration, Brazil; Yale University, United States of America, augusto.sales@fgv.br
For more details refer here
