Abstract
This study explores the use of the systems approaches (systems thinking and systems theories) as the theoretical underpinnings for Enterprise Architecture (EA) research. Both the academic and the practitioner communities have maintained an interest in EA due to its potential benefits, promising for the recent technological and business advances. EA as a research area is, however, characterized by diversified views depicted in different definitions of the concept, and no acknowledged common theoretical foundation. A number of prior studies have noticed this gap in the EA field of research, and called for a strengthening of the theory of EA. Variegated systems approaches have been suggested as a theory base. The aim of this study is to examine if, and to what extent the systems approaches could provide a common theoretical foundation. We contribute with a systematic literature review on the state-of-art of systems approaches in EA research. We find that the systems approaches are, indeed, frequently referred to in the EA studies. However, as of yet, the application of these theories appears to be fragmented, and the approaches are rarely systematically used in empirical studies. We discuss the findings, reflecting to the types of theory and the use of theory in our area of research.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Academy of Management Review: Theme issue: general systems theory. Acad. Manag. Rev. 15(4), (1972)
Arnold, R.D., Wade, J.P.: A definition of systems thinking: a systems approach. Procedia Comput. Sci. 44, 669–678 (2015)
Ashmos, D.P., Huber, G.P.: The systems paradigm in organization theory: correcting the record and suggesting the future. Acad. Manag. Rev. 12(4), 607–621 (1987)
Beer, S.: What has cybernetics to do with operational research? J. Oper. Res. Soc. 10(1), 1–21 (1959)
Bernus, P., et al.: Enterprise engineering and management at the crossroads. Comput. Ind. 79, 87–102 (2016)
Bernus, P., Nemes, L., Schmidt, G. (eds.): Handbook on Enterprise Architecture. Springer, Heidelberg (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24744-9
Bernus, P., Noran, O., Molina, A.: Enterprise architecture: twenty years of the GERAM framework. Annu. Rev. Control 39, 83–93 (2015)
Bjeković, M., Proper, H.A., Sottet, J.S.: Embracing pragmatics. In: Yu, E., Dobbie, G., Jarke, M., Purao, S. (eds.) ER 2014. LNCS, vol. 8824, pp. 431–444. Springer, Cham (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12206-9_37
Boulding, K.E.: General systems theory—the skeleton of science. Manag. Sci. 2(3), 197–208 (1956)
Bunge, M.: Mechanism and explanation. Philos. Soc. Sci. 27(4), 410–465 (1997)
Cabrera, D., Colosi, L., Lobdell, C.: Systems thinking. Eval. Program Plan. 31(3), 299–310 (2008)
Checkland, P.B.: Soft systems methodology. Hum. Syst. Manag. 8(4), 273–289 (1989)
Daft, R.L., Weick, K.E.: Toward a model of organizations as interpretation systems. Acad. Manag. Rev. 9(2), 284–295 (1984)
Dietz, J.L., et al.: The discipline of enterprise engineering. Int. J. Organ. Des. Eng. 3(1), 86–114 (2013)
Forrester, J.W.: System dynamics, systems thinking, and soft OR. Syst. Dyn. Rev. 10(2–3), 245–256 (1994)
Fu, J., Luo, A., Luo, X., Liu, J.: Charting the landscape of enterprise architecture complexity cybernetics: a systematic literature analysis. In: 2016 12th World Congress on Intelligent Control and Automation (WCICA), pp. 1393–1397. IEEE, June 2016
Gorod, A., Sauser, B., Boardman, J.: System-of-systems (2008)
Gregor, S.: The nature of theory in information systems. MIS Q. 30(3), 611–642 (2006). University of Minnesota. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25148742
Harmon, K.: The “systems” nature of enterprise architecture. In: 2005 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, vol. 1, pp. 78–85. IEEE, October 2005
Holland, J.H.: Complex adaptive systems, pp. 17–30. Daedalus, Sawtry (1992)
Hoyland, C.A.: An analysis of enterprise architectures using general systems theory. In: 2011 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), pp. 340–344. IEEE, October 2011
ISO/IEC 38500:2015(en) Information technology—Governance of IT for the organization (2015)
Jackson, M.C.: Fifty years of systems thinking for management. J. Oper. Res. Soc. 60(1), S24–S32 (2009)
Janssen, M., Kuk, G.: A complex adaptive system perspective of enterprise architecture in electronic government. In: Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2006, vol. 4, pp. 71b-71b. IEEE, January 2006
Kandjani, H., Bernus, P.: The enterprise architecture body of knowledge as an evolving discipline. In: Cordeiro, J., Maciaszek, L.A., Filipe, J. (eds.) ICEIS 2012. LNBIP, vol. 141, pp. 452–470. Springer, Heidelberg (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40654-6_27
Kandjani, H., Bernus, P., Nielsen, S.: Enterprise architecture cybernetics and the edge of chaos: sustaining enterprises as complex systems in complex business environments. In: 2013 46th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), pp. 3858–3867. IEEE, January 2013
Kalpic, B., Pandza, K., Bernus, P.: Strategy as a creation of corporate future. In: Bernus, P., Nemes, L., Schmidt, G. (eds.) Handbook on Enterprise Architecture, pp. 213–253. Springer, Heidelberg (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24744-9_4
Kappelman, L.A., Zachman, J.A.: The enterprise and its architecture: ontology & challenges. J. Comput. Inf. Syst. 53(4), 87–95 (2013)
Kappelman, L., McGinnis, T., Pettite, A., Sidorova, A.: Enterprise architecture: charting the territory for academic research. In: AMCIS 2008 Proceedings, p. 162 (2008)
Katz, D., Kahn, R.L.: The Social Psychology of Organizations, vol. 2, p. 528. Wiley, New York (1978)
Korhonen, J.J., Lapalme, J., McDavid, D., Gill, A.Q.: Adaptive enterprise architecture for the future: Towards a reconceptualization of EA. In: 2016 IEEE 18th Conference on Business Informatics (CBI), vol. 1, pp. 272–281. IEEE, August 2016
Lapalme, J.: Three schools of thought on enterprise architecture. IT Prof. 14(6), 37–43 (2012)
Lapalme, J., Gerber, A., Van der Merwe, A., Zachman, J., De Vries, M., Hinkelmann, K.: Exploring the future of enterprise architecture: a Zachman perspective. Comput. Ind. 79, 103–113 (2016)
Luftman, J., Ben-Zvi, T.: Key issues for IT executives 2010: judicious IT investments continue post-recession. MIS Q. Exec. 9(4), 263–273 (2010)
Mesarovic, M.D., Macko, D., Takahara, Y.: Theory of Hierarchical, Multilevel, Systems, vol. 68. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2000)
Meschke, M., Baumoel, U.: Architecture concepts for value networks in the service industry. In: ICIS, p. 266 (2010)
Mingers, J., White, L.: A review of the recent contribution of systems thinking to operational research and management science. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 207(3), 1147–1161 (2010)
Miller, J.G.: Living Systems. McGraw-Hill, New York (1978)
Niemi, E., Pekkola, S.: Using enterprise architecture artefacts in an organisation. Enterp. Inf. Syst. 11(3), 313–338 (2017)
Noran, O., Romero, D.: A pluralistic approach towards sustainable eco-industrial networking. IFAC Proc. Vol. 47(3), 4292–4297 (2014)
Proper, H., Lankhorst, M.M.: Enterprise architecture – towards essential sensemaking. Enterp. Model. Inf. Syst. Arch. – Int. J. Concept. Model. 9(1), 5–21 (2014)
Rahimi, F., Gøtze, J., Møller, C.: Enterprise architecture management: toward a taxonomy of applications. Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 40(1), 7 (2017)
Romero, D., Vernadat, F.: Enterprise information systems state of the art: past, present and future trends. Comput. Ind. 79, 3–13 (2016)
Ross, J.W., Weill, P., Robertson, D.: Enterprise Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution. Harvard Business Press, Brighton (2006)
Saint-Louis, P., Morency, M.C., Lapalme, J.: Defining enterprise architecture: a systematic literature review. In: 2017 IEEE 21st International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Workshop (EDOCW), pp. 41–49. IEEE October 2017
Santana, A., Fischbach, K., Moura, H.: Enterprise architecture analysis and network thinking: a literature review. In: 2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), pp. 4566–4575. IEEE, January 2016
Schelp, J., Winter, R.: Language communities in enterprise architecture research. In: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology, p. 23. ACM, May 2009
Schöenherr, M.: Towards a common terminology in the discipline of enterprise architecture. In: Feuerlicht, G., Lamersdorf, W. (eds.) ICSOC 2008. LNCS, vol. 5472, pp. 400–413. Springer, Heidelberg (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01247-1_40
Shanks, G., Gloet, M., Someh, I.A., Frampton, K., Tamm, T.: Achieving benefits with enterprise architecture. J. Strat. Inf. Syst. 27, 139–156 (2018)
Senge, P.M.: The fifth discipline, the art and practice of the learning organization. Perform. Improv. 30(5), 37 (1991)
Spewak, S.H., Hill, S.C.: Enterprise Architecture Planning: Developing a Blueprint for Data, Applications and Technology. QED Information Sciences, Inc., Wellesley (1993)
Stamper, R.K.: Informatics without the computer. In: Proceedings of the CAFRAD Conference, Algiers (1976)
Stamper, R.K.: Organizational semiotics: Informatics without the computer? In: Liu, K., Clarke, R.J., Andersen, P.B., Stamper, R.K. (eds.) Information, Organisation and Technology, pp. 115–171. Springer, Boston (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1655-2_5
Syynimaa, N.: The quest for underpinning theory of enterprise architecture: general systems theory. In: Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, ICEIS 2017, vol. 3. SCITEPRESS (2017). ISBN 978-989-758-249-3
Tamm, T., Seddon, P.B., Shanks, G.G., Reynolds, P.: How does enterprise architecture add value to organisations? CAIS 28, 10 (2011)
Templier, M., Paré, G.: A framework for guiding and evaluating literature reviews. Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 37 (2015)
Von Bertalanffy, L.: The History and Status of General Systems Theory (1950)
Webster, J., Watson, R.T.: Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: writing a literature review. MIS Q. 26, xiii–xxiii (2002)
Wegmann, A.: The systemic enterprise architecture methodology (SEAM). Business and IT alignment for competitiveness (No. LAMS-REPORT-2002-009) (2002)
Wegmann, A., Preiss, O.: MDA in enterprise architecture? The living system theory to the rescue. In: 2003 Proceedings of the Seventh IEEE International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference, pp. 2–13. IEEE, September 2003
Wiener, N.: Cybernetics. Sci. Am. 179(5), 14–19 (1948)
Zachman, J.A.: Business systems planning and business information control study: a comparison. IBM Syst. J. 21(1), 31–53 (1982)
Zachman, J.A.: A framework for information systems architecture. IBM Syst. J. 26(3), 276–292 (1987)
Zadeh, M.E., Lewis, E., Millar, G., Yang, Y., Thorne, C.: The use of Viable System Model to develop guidelines for generating Enterprise Architecture Principles. In: 2014 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (SMC), pp. 1020–1026. IEEE October 2014
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
A Appendix
A Appendix
Included articles | ID |
---|---|
Wegmann, A. (2002). The systemic enterprise architecture methodology (SEAM). Business and IT alignment for competitiveness (No. LAMS-REPORT-2002-009) | #1 |
Wegmann, A., & Preiss, O. (2003, September). MDA in enterprise architecture? The living system theory to the rescue. In Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference, 2003. Proceedings. Seventh IEEE International (pp. 2–13). IEEE | #2 |
Harmon, K. (2005, October). The “systems” nature of enterprise architecture. In Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 2005 IEEE International Conference on (Vol. 1, pp. 78–85). IEEE | #3 |
Le, L. S., & Wegmann, A. (2005, January). Definition of an object-oriented modeling language for enterprise architecture. In System Sciences, 2005. HICSS’05. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 222a–222a). IEEE | #4 |
Janssen, M., & Kuk, G. (2006, January). A complex adaptive system perspective of enterprise architecture in electronic government. In System Sciences, 2006. HICSS’06. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on(Vol. 4, pp. 71b–71b). IEEE | #5 |
Lê, L. S., & Wegmann, A. (2006, January). SeamCAD: object-oriented modeling tool for hierarchical systems in enterprise architecture. In System Sciences, 2006. HICSS’06. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on (Vol. 8, pp. 179c–179c). IEEE | #6 |
Pulkkinen, M. (2006, January). Systemic management of architectural decisions in enterprise architecture planning. four dimensions and three abstraction levels. In System Sciences, 2006. HICSS’06. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on (Vol. 8, pp. 179a–179a). IEEE | #7 |
Winter, R., & Fischer, R. (2006, October). Essential layers, artifacts, and dependencies of enterprise architecture. In Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference Workshops, 2006. EDOCW’06. 10th IEEE International (pp. 30–30). IEEE | #8 |
Wegmann, A., Regev, G., Rychkova, I., Lê, L. S., & Julia, P. (2007, October). Business and IT alignment with SEAM for enterprise architecture. In Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference, 2007. EDOC 2007. 11th IEEE International (pp. 111–111). IEEE | #9 |
Wegmann, A., Kotsalainen, A., Matthey, L., Regev, G., & Giannattasio, A. (2008, September). Augmenting the Zachman enterprise architecture framework with a systemic conceptualization. In Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference, 2008. EDOC’08. 12th International IEEE (pp. 3–13). IEEE | #10 |
Buckl, S., Matthes, F., & Schweda, C. M. (2009, October). A viable system perspective on enterprise architecture management. In Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 2009. SMC 2009. IEEE International Conference on (pp. 1483–1488). IEEE | #11 |
Sousa, P., Lima, J., Sampaio, A., & Pereira, C. (2009). An approach for creating and managing enterprise blueprints: A case for IT blueprints. In Advances in enterprise engineering III (pp. 70–84). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg | #12 |
Buckl, S., Matthes, F., & Schweda, C. M. (2010). Towards a method framework for enterprise architecture management–a literature analysis from a viable system perspective. In 5th International Workshop on Business/IT Alignment and Interoperability (BUSITAL 2010) (pp. 46–60) | #13 |
Kloeckner, S., & Birkmeier, D. (2010). Something is missing: Enterprise architecture from a systems theory perspective. In Service-Oriented Computing. ICSOC/ServiceWave 2009 Workshops (pp. 22–34). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg | #14 |
Kotzé, P., & Neaga, I. (2010). Towards an enterprise interoperability framework | #15 |
Meschke, M., & Baumoel, U. (2010). Architecture Concepts for Value Networks in the Service Industry. In ICIS (p. 266) | #16 |
Bider, I., Bellinger, G., & Perjons, E. (2011, November). Modeling an agile enterprise: reconciling systems and process thinking. In IFIP Working Conference on The Practice of Enterprise Modeling (pp. 238–252). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg | #17 |
Dietz, J. L., & Hoogervorst, J. A. (2011, May). A critical investigation of TOGAF-based on the enterprise engineering theory and practice. In Enterprise Engineering Working Conference (pp. 76–90). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg | #18 |
Hoyland, C. A. (2011, October). An analysis of enterprise architectures using general systems theory. In Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), 2011 IEEE International Conference on (pp. 340–344). IEEE | #19 |
Wang, S., Xu, L., Li, L., Wang, K., & Choi, J. (2011, October). Features of enterprise information systems integration: A systemic analysis. In Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), 2011 IEEE International Conference on (pp. 333–339). IEEE | #20 |
Kandjani, H., & Bernus, P. (2012, June). The enterprise architecture body of knowledge as an evolving discipline. In International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (pp. 452–470) Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg | #21 |
Kandjani, H., Wen, L., & Bernus, P. (2012). Enterprise Architecture Cybernetics for Collaborative Networks: Reducing the Structural Complexity and Transaction Cost via Virtual Brokerage. IFAC Proceedings Volumes, 45(6), 1233-1239 | #22 |
Lapalme, J. (2012). Three schools of thought on enterprise architecture. IT professional, 14(6), 37–43 | #23 |
Wan, H., & Carlsson, S. (2012, September). Towards an understanding of enterprise architecture analysis activities. In European Conference on Information Management and Evaluation (p. 334). Academic Conferences International Limited | #24 |
Wang, S., Li, L., Wang, K., & Jones, J. D. (2012). e-Business systems integration: a systems perspective. Information Technology and Management, 13(4), 233–249 | #25 |
Zadeh, M. E., Millar, G., & Lewis, E. (2012a). Reinterpreting the TOGAF® enterprise architecture principles using a cybernetic lens. Journal of Enterprise Architecture, 8(2), 9–17 | #26 |
Zadeh, M. E., Millar, G., & Lewis, E. (2012b, January). Mapping the enterprise architecture principles in TOGAF to the cybernetic concepts–An exploratory study. In System Science (HICSS), 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 4270–4276). IEEE | #27 |
Abraham, R., Tribolet, J., & Winter, R. (2013, May). Transformation of multi-level systems–theoretical grounding and consequences for enterprise architecture management. In Enterprise Engineering Working Conference (pp. 73–87). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg | #28 |
Kandjani, H., Bernus, P., & Nielsen, S. (2013, January). Enterprise architecture cybernetics and the edge of chaos: Sustaining enterprises as complex systems in complex business environments. In System Sciences (HICSS), 2013 46th Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 3858–3867). IEEE | #29 |
Kappelman, L. A., & Zachman, J. A. (2013). The enterprise and its architecture: ontology & challenges. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 53(4), 87–95 | #30 |
Korhonen, J. J., & Poutanen, J. (2013). Tripartite approach to enterprise architecture. Journal of Enterprise Architecture, 9(1), 28–38 | #31 |
Schuetz, A., Widjaja, T., & Kaiser, J. (2013). Complexity in enterprise architectures-conceptualization and introduction of a measure from a system theoretic perspective. In 21st European Conference on Information Systems, Utrecht (pp. 1–12) | #32 |
Bernus, P., Noran, O., & Molina, A. (2014). Enterprise architecture: twenty years of the GERAM framework. IFAC Proceedings Volumes, 47(3), 3300–3308 | #33 |
du Preez, J., van der Merwe, A., & Matthee, M. (2014, September). Enterprise architecture schools of thought: An exploratory study. In Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference Workshops and Demonstrations (EDOCW), 2014 IEEE 18th International (pp. 3–12). IEEE | #34 |
Hoyland, C. A., M. Adams, K., Tolk, A., & D. Xu, L. (2014). The RQ-Tech methodology: a new paradigm for conceptualizing strategic enterprise architectures. Journal of Management Analytics, 1(1), 55–77 | #35 |
Kandjani, H., Tavana, M., Bernus, P., & Nielsen, S. (2014). Co-Evolution Path Model (CePM): Sustaining Enterprises as Complex Systems on the Edge of Chaos. Cybernetics and Systems, 45(7), 547–567 | #36 |
Noran, O., & Romero, D. (2014). A Pluralistic Approach towards Sustainable Eco-Industrial Networking. IFAC Proceedings Volumes, 47(3), 4292–4297 | #37 |
Schneider, A. W., & Matthes, F. (2014). Using Orientor Theory for Coherent Decision Making for Application Landscape Design. In CSDM (Posters) (pp. 161–172) | #38 |
Syynimaa, N. (2013). Theoretical perspectives of enterprise architecture | #39 |
Zadeh, M. E., Lewis, E., Millar, G., Yang, Y., & Thorne, C. (2014, October). The use of Viable System Model to develop guidelines for generating Enterprise Architecture Principles. In Systems, Man and Cybernetics (SMC), 2014 IEEE International Conference on (pp. 1020–1026). IEEE | #40 |
Bernus, P., Goranson, T., Gøtze, J., Jensen-Waud, A., Kandjani, H., Molina, A., … & Turner, P. (2016). Enterprise engineering and management at the crossroads. Computers in Industry, 79, 87–102 | #41 |
Korhonen, J. J., Lapalme, J., McDavid, D., & Gill, A. Q. (2016, August). Adaptive enterprise architecture for the future: Towards a reconceptualization of EA. In Business Informatics (CBI), 2016 IEEE 18th Conference on (Vol. 1, pp. 272–281). IEEE | #42 |
Lapalme, J., Gerber, A., Van der Merwe, A., Zachman, J., De Vries, M., & Hinkelmann, K. (2016). Exploring the future of enterprise architecture: A Zachman perspective. Computers in Industry, 79, 103–113 | #43 |
Santana, A., Fischbach, K., & Moura, H. (2016, January). Enterprise architecture analysis and network thinking: A literature review. In System Sciences (HICSS), 2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 4566–4575). IEEE | #44 |
da Silva, N. M. C., & da Silva, M. L. B. M. (2017a, July). Modelling the evolution of enterprise architectures using ontologies. In Business Informatics (CBI), 2017 IEEE 19th Conference on (Vol. 1, pp. 79–88). IEEE | #45 |
da Silva, N. M. C., Da Silva, M. L. B. M., & De Sousa, P. M. V. A. (2017b, October). A Viewpoint for Analyzing Enterprise Architecture Evolution. In Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference (EDOC), 2017 IEEE 21st International (pp. 20–29). IEEE | #46 |
Syynimaa, N. (2017). The Quest for Underpinning Theory of Enterprise Architecture: General Systems Theory. In ICEIS 2017: Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems. Volume 3, ISBN 978-989-758-249-3. SCITEPRESS | #47 |
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Nurmi, J., Pulkkinen, M., Seppänen, V., Penttinen, K. (2019). Systems Approaches in the Enterprise Architecture Field of Research: A Systematic Literature Review. In: Aveiro, D., Guizzardi, G., Guerreiro, S., Guédria, W. (eds) Advances in Enterprise Engineering XII. EEWC 2018. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 334. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06097-8_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06097-8_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-06096-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-06097-8
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)