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Complementarism versus pluralism: are they different and does it matter?
Author(s) -
Zhu Zhichang
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.706
Subject(s) - institutionalisation , pluralism (philosophy) , commensurability (mathematics) , epistemology , sociology , social science , diversification (marketing strategy) , political science , business , law , philosophy , marketing , geometry , mathematics
Research on systems methodology has recently undertaken a wholesale transformation from ‘complementarism’ to ‘pluralism’, in presentation if not in spirit. This can be seen as an institutional/structurational process in the search by researchers for legitimate knowledge claims that are embedded in a particular historical, geographical and intellectual context in which (1) the paradigm (in)commensurability debate dominated social sciences and (2) postmodernist thinking gained overwhelming legitimating power. Systems methodology research needs to heighten its sensitivity toward institutional forces and institutionalization processes if it is to be productively conducted and beneficially applied. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.