Systems Thinking for the Digital Economy: A Sociotechnical Perspective

Abstract

The digital economy has radically changed the way services and products are developed and deployed. Digital information and communication technology connects increasing numbers of people, organisations, and other systems. The interconnectedness of services and products in an organisation and the outside world drives complexity. These interactions include humans interacting in social networks with one another, the technology, and the environment. Therefore, systems thinking approaches are required to help develop these systems and resolve the complex problems encountered in this space. This paper proposes a systems thinking framework to address the challenges of the digital economy from a sociotechnical perspective, based on an exploratory literature review. This will serve as a guideline for implementing various systems thinking tools to support a successful digital transformation. Keywords digital economy; systems thinking; sociotechnical; transformation