Abstract
The concept of emergence has roots in systems complexity and dynamics, with prominent impact in contemporary science and in design, analysis, and governance of complex engineering systems. It is almost impossible to effectively model emergence within the dynamics of systems, due to the obscurity of its nature and imperfection of our information on its relational systemic interactions. Thus, paying attention to basic meta-questions about emergent properties of complex engineering systems is crucially important in understanding both the trajectories of evolution of systems and correspondingly the patterns of system behaviour. From this trajectorial/behavioural perspective, emergence and dynamics are considered as very close concepts: understanding the variables of one can be realised by tracing and modelling the other. This chapter reviews and summarises the topics of emergence and dynamics through their applications in six case examples. Six studies conducted by researchers around the world are selected, representing a portfolio of cases studied with multiple theoretical foundations, levels of scope, application domains of engineering systems design, phenomena of emergence, and modelling methods used that detect and identify emergence through dynamics. The case reviews provide a gateway to comprehending emergence in systems through emphasising the dynamics of interactions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alaa G, Fitzgerald G (2013) Re-conceptualizing agile information systems development as a complex adaptive system. Emerg: Complex Organ 15(3)
Balestrini Robinson S (2009) A modeling process to understand complex system architectures. Georgia Institute of Technology, s.l.
Batty M (2013) The new science of cities. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Bonabeau E (2002) Agent-based modeling: methods and techniques for simulating human systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci 99(3):7280–7287
Cash P, Škec S, Štorga M (2019) The dynamics of design: exploring heterogeneity in meso-scale team processes. Des Stud 64:124–153
Cohen D, Prusak L (2001) In good company: how social capital makes organisations work. Harvard Business School Press, Boston
Curşeu PL (2006) Emergent states in virtual teams: a complex adaptive systems perspective. J Inf Technol 21(4)
Darabi HR, Gorod A, Mansouri M (2012) Governance mechanism pillars for systems of systems. s.n, Genoa
Darabi HR, Mostashari A, Mansouri M (2014) Modelling competition and collaboration in the airline industry using agent-based simulation. Int J Ind Syst Eng 16(1):30–50
de Reuver M, Bouwman H, Haaker T (2013) Business model roadmapping: a practical approach to come from an existing to a desired business model. Int J Innov Manag 17(1)
de Weck OL, Roos D, Magee L (2011) Engineering systems – meeting human needs in a complex technological world. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Erdős P, Rényi A (1959) On random graphs. I. Publicationes Mathematicae 6:290–297
Erol O, Sauser BJ, Mansouri M (2010) A framework for investigation into extended enterprise resilience. Enterp Inf Sys 4(2):111–136
Filho MF, Heerdt ML (2018) Innovation emergence: public policies versus actors’ free interaction. Systems 6(13)
Gero JS, Jiang H, Williams C (2013) Design cognition differences when using unstructured, partially structured, and structured concept generation creativity techniques. Int J Des Creat Innov 1(4)
Gladwell M (2002) Tipping point: how little things can make a big difference. Little Brown, New York
Glansdorff P, Prigogine I (1971) Thermodynamic theory of structure, stability and fluctuations. Wiley-Interscience, s.l.
Goldstein J (2011) Emergence in complex systems. s.n, s.l.
Grimm V, Railsback SF (2005) Individual-based modeling and ecology. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Gunderson LH, Holling CS (2002) Panarchy: understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Island Press, Washington, DC
Haken H (2011) Self-organisation. Scholarpedia, s.l.
Hardin G (1968) The tragedy of the commons. Science 162:1243–1248
INCOSE (n.d.) International Council on Systems Engineering Website. [Online] Available at: www.incose.org
Johnson C (2006) What are emergent properties and how do they affect the engineering of complex systems? Reliab Eng Sys Saf 91(12)
Khansari N, Darabi HR, Mansouri M, Mostashari A (2015a) Case study of energy behavior: systems thinking approach. s.n, Vancouver
Khansari N, Vesaghi A, Mansouri M, Mostashari A (2015b) The multiagent analysis of social progress in energy behavior: the system dynamics methodology. IEEE Syst J 11(4):2062–2071
Mansouri M, Mostashari A (2010) IEEE international systems conference. s.n, San Diego
Marks M, Mathieu JE, Zaccaro S (2001) A temporally based framework and taxonomy of team processes. Acad Manag Rev 26(3)
McCarthy IP, Tsinopoulos C, Allen P, Rose-Anderssen C (2006) New product development as a complex adaptive system of decisions. J Prod Innov Manag 23(5)
Meadows DH (2008) Thinking in systems. Chelsea Green, White River Junction
Mitchell M (2009) Complexity: a guided tour. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Moellers T et al (2019) System dynamic for corporate business model innovation. Electron Mark 29(387)
Mostashari A, Arnold F, Mansouri M, Finger M (2011) Cognitive cities and intelligent urban governance. Network Ind Q 13(3):4–7
Nikolic I, Kasmire J (2013) Theory. In: Agent-based modelling of socio-technical systems. Agent-based social systems. Springer, Dordrecht, s.l.
Ottino JM (2004) Engineering complex systems. Nature 427(6973)
Perišić MM, Martinec T, Štorga M, Gero JS (2019a) A computational study of the effect of experience on problem/solution space exploration in teams. s.n, Delft
Perišić MM, Štorga M, Gero JS (2019b) Exploring the effect of experience on team behavior: a computational approach. s.n, Lecco
Perišić MM, Štorga M, Gero JS (2019c) Situated novelty in computational creativity studies. s.n, Charlotte
Roll M (2004) Distributed KM – improving knowledge workers’ productivity and organisational knowledge sharing with weblog-based personal publishing. s.n, Vienna
Scheffer M (2009) Critical transitions in nature and society. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Schelling TC (2006) Micromotives and macrobehavior. W. W. Norton, New Haven
Sepulveda DA, Khan OQ (2017) A system dynamics case study of resilient response to IP theft from a cyber-attack. s.n, Singapore
Sterman J (2000) Business dynamics: systems thinking and modeling for a complex world. Irwin/McGraw-Hill, Boston
Štorga M, Mostashari A, Stanković T (2013) Visualisation of the organisation knowledge structure evolution. J Knowl Manag 17(5):724–740
Teece DJ (2010) Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long Range Plan 43(2–3):172–194
The Global Innovation Index (n.d.). www.globalinnovationindex.org/home. [Online]
Werder K, Maedche A (2018) Explaining the emergence of team agility: a complex adaptive systems perspective. Inf Technol People 31(3)
Wildman WJ, Shults FL (2018) Emergence: what does it mean and how is it relevant to computer engineering? In: Emergent behavior in complex systems engineering: a modeling and simulation approach. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 21–34
Young O (2013) Sugaring off: enduring insights from long-term research on environmental governance. Int Environ Agreem: Politics Law Econ 13(1):87–105
Young OR (2017) Governing complex systems: social capital for the Anthropocene. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Zhang J (2003) High-tech start-ups and industry dynamics in Silicon Valley. Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Mansouri, M., Štorga, M. (2023). Dynamics and Emergence: Case Examples from Literature. In: Maier, A., Oehmen, J., Vermaas, P.E. (eds) Handbook of Engineering Systems Design. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_11-4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_11-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-46054-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-46054-9
eBook Packages: Living Reference EngineeringReference Module Computer Science and Engineering
Publish with us
Chapter history
-
Latest
Dynamics and Emergence: Case Examples from Literature- Published:
- 06 January 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_11-4
-
Dynamics and Emergence: Case Examples from Literature
- Published:
- 10 May 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_11-3
-
Dynamics and Emergence
- Published:
- 12 April 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_11-2
-
Original
Dynamics and Emergence: Case Examples from Literature- Published:
- 12 January 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_11-1