Designing Communication Architectures in Complex Organizations: A Systemic Action Research Approach

ABSTRACT

Organizational communication plays a pivotal role in enabling learning and decision‐making within complex adaptive systems. Rather than functioning solely as information transfer, communication in organizations constitutes a recursive process that shapes meaning, coordination and adaptive behaviour. This article introduces a systemic meta‐methodology for designing and analysing organizational communication architectures by integrating principles from cybernetics, cyber‐systemics and systemic action research (SAR). The approach employs soft systems methodology (SSM) as a flexible organizing framework that combines both systemic and nonsystemic tools to investigate communication flows, decision‐making processes and emergent knowledge structures. The architecture articulates both systemic and nonsystemic tools across nested levels of observation: Social network analysis and participatory diagnostic instruments are employed empirically to examine relational and structural properties of communication networks and organizational worldviews, whereas systemic modelling tools such as system dynamics and the viable system model are proposed as complementary heuristic components when appropriate to the problem context. A case study conducted in a private manufacturing firm contrasts organizational worldviews with actual communicative practices, revealing tensions and synergies between hierarchical and emergent structures. The findings present communication as an emergent, learning‐oriented process, offering a practical and theoretically grounded framework for enhancing organizational adaptability and collective intelligence.