INTERVENING IN THE CULTURAL CONSTITUTION OF SYSTEMS - METHODOLOGICAL COMPLEMENTARISM AND OTHER VISIONS FOR SYSTEMS RESEARCH

This paper uses a culture perspective to examine the complementarist i dea of combining hard, soft and critical methodologies in systems rese arch. The culture perspective is adopted because it reminds us that al l research is underpinned by socially constructed meanings that often severely constrain the range of options that are possible. It is parti cularly appropriate, therefore, in the context of a situation where sy stems researchers are being urged to develop their research capabiliti es in distinctive ways. The future prospects for complementarism are e xamined in relation to two major factors-its cultural 'content', and t he overall level of receptiveness to culture change in the systems com munity.