Sociotechnical Systems: A North American Reflection on Empirical Studies of the Seventies

TLDR

The paper reviews the evolution of sociotechnical systems theory in North America over the past decade and identifies methodological gaps for future research. It surveys core theoretical constructs—social and technical systems, open systems, joint optimization, organizational choice, variance control, boundary location, support congruence, quality of work life, and continuous learning—highlighting their interrelations. A synthesis of 134 experiments shows that frequently used design features correlate with gains in productivity, cost, quality, and satisfaction, yet the limited inclusion of technological innovation suggests substantial room for learning about joint optimization of technical systems.

Abstract

This paper reviews the development of sociotechnical systems theory and research over the past 30 years, paying particular attention to the evolution of the paradigm in North America during the past decade. Elements of sociotechnical systems theory discussed here include the conceptualization of social systems, technical systems, and open systems, joint optimization, organizational choice, variance control, boundary location, support congruence, quality of work life, and continuous learning. A review of 134 experiments is then summarized, indicating which features of sociotechnical systems design are used most frequently, and which in turn are associated with reported success on a number of critical outcome dimensions such as productivity, costs, quality, and satisfaction. An unexpected finding of this review was that while sociotechnical system experiments have been extremely successful overall, the number of experiments involving technological innovation or change is relatively small; moreover, from the results achieved in these experiments, it is obvious that we still have much to learn regarding the design of technical systems for joint optimization. Methodological issues and areas in need of further research are explored.