Systems Engineering as a Framework for Sustainable Corporate Transformation: Addressing Grand Challenges in Urban Mobility

Abstract

Organizations are increasingly functioning in an environment characterized by complex societal and environmental challenges, such as climate change, scarcity, and congestion, among others. These challenges are often viewed as Grand Challenges because of their wide population coverage, involvement of multiple stakeholders, and high levels of uncertainty and complexity, among others. To effectively respond to such challenges, it is imperative to develop approachesthat incorporate technological, organizational, and societal perspectives, among others. In this regard, Systems Engineering has been viewed as an effective framework in managing complex socio-technical systems and promoting sustainable solutions. The underlying issue explored in this thesis is the need for organizations to effectively respond to the challenges of sustainability in complex systems. The main research question being addressedin this study is: How can systems engineering contribute to addressing the organizationalchallenges in addressing the grand challenges in sustainability in complex socio-technicalsystems? Urban mobility is an appropriate case study because it is a complex system in whichmany actors are involved, ranging from governments, private bodies, infrastructure providers,and even the citizenry. Urban mobility is also closely linked to issues of environmental,economic, and social sustainability.The findings indicate that systems engineering can contribute to addressing organizationalchallenges in addressing the grand challenges in sustainability in complex socio-technicalsystems by fostering a holistic system perspective, enabling stakeholder integration, andmanaging interdependencies between technical and social system components.The thesis concludes that systems engineering has considerable potential in making a positivecontribution to organizational sustainable practices by being applied in a wider socio-technicalsystem context. Further studies in this area are required, with a focus on empirical studies toexplore the applicability of systems engineering in addressing complex issues in sustainability incomplex socio-technical systems.