This research argues that Lean management is a complex sociotechnical phenomenon, but existing research has largely examined its social ("soft") and technical ("hard") subsystems in isolation. The authors address this gap by employing a sociotechnical system (STS) theoretical lens and process theorising to examine the dynamic interaction between these subsystems at individual, group, and organisational levels. The core argument is that a balanced interplay between the social and technical subsystems is crucial for effectively managing inherent tensions within Lean and achieving sustained performance gains.

Main Themes:

• The Underexplored Interaction between Social and Technical Subsystems: Existing literature has primarily focused on the technical aspects of Lean, neglecting the dynamic and mutually constitutive relationship between the social and technical subsystems.
• The Importance of a Balanced STS: The authors highlight that for Lean to maximise performance, neither the social nor the technical subsystem should dominate. Achieving a "balanced sociotechnical system" is essential.
• Paradoxical and Dialectical Tensions: The paper identifies inherent tensions within Lean systems, particularly arising from the technical subsystem. These include paradoxical tensions (opposing yet complementary features) and dialectical tensions (inherent contradictions).
• The Role of the Social Subsystem in Managing Tensions: The social subsystem, encompassing aspects like employee empowerment, training, work design, cross-functional collaboration, and management involvement, is presented as crucial for addressing and mitigating the paradoxical and dialectical tensions created by the technical subsystem.
• Synergistic Outcomes of Balanced Interaction: A key finding is that the symbiotic relationship between balanced social and technical subsystems fosters synergies that enhance operational performance, bolster dynamic capabilities, and drive process innovation.
• Lean, as a symbiotic STS, fosters synergies: The balanced and interacting subsystems lead to outcomes that are greater than the sum of their individual parts. This "symbiotic relationship... fosters synergies that enhance operational performance, bolster dynamic capabilities, and drive process innovation." (Proposition 3)
• Multilevel Performance: The impact of Lean's sociotechnical interaction is analysed at the individual, group, and organisational levels. Examples of positive outcomes include increased job satisfaction (individual), enhanced psychological safety in teams (group), and customer-centric innovation (organisational).
• Managerial Role: Managers play a "critical strategic role in shaping the adoption of social subsystems" and tailoring them to the specific context of their organisations. This includes fostering training, leadership engagement, and collaboration.

Source: Gamage, Isuru, Mohsin Malik, Amir Andargoli, and Roberto Chavez Clavijo. "Theorizing Lean as a Socio-Technical System: Examining the Reciprocal Interactions between Lean Social and Technical Subsystems." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (2025). Available at https://figshare.swinburne.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/Theorizing_Lean_as_a_Socio-Technical_System_Examining_the_Reciprocal_Interactions_between_Lean_Social_and_Technical_Subsystems/29115758

This research addresses a gap in the existing understanding of digital transformation by focusing on the impact of the human-technology dynamic on human agency, specifically employee cognitions and behaviours. Utilising socio-cognitive and role theories, the study investigates how employee cognitive trust and innovative behaviour influence digital transformation outcomes and how role conflict, arising from the evolving human-technology dynamic, moderates these relationships. Based on survey data from 256 participants involved in digital transformations in Australia, the study confirms that employee cognitive trust directly and indirectly (through innovative behaviour) contributes to successful digital transformation. Crucially, the research demonstrates that role conflict significantly weakens the positive relationships between cognitive trust and both innovative behaviour and digital transformation. These findings provide important theoretical insights into the social construction of digital transformation and offer practical guidance for managers seeking to foster trust and minimise conflicting demands on employees during digital initiatives.

Main Themes and Most Important Ideas/Facts:

1. Focus on Human Agency in Digital Transformation: The study highlights a gap in current theorising of digital transformation, which has often overlooked the "micro-level explanations" that focus on "employees’ behaviours and actions" and human agency. The authors define human agency as "the capacity to exert control over the progression of events and functions via actions."
2. Integration of Socio-Cognitive and Role Theories: To address the theoretical gap, the research integrates perspectives from socio-cognitive theory and role theory. Socio-cognitive theory provides a framework for understanding how employees' cognitions and behaviours influence digital transformations, while role theory helps to contextualise the social environment and potential conflicts arising from the human-technology dynamic.
3. Cognitive Trust as a Driving Mechanism: Employee cognitive trust is identified as a pivotal cognition influencing both employee innovative behaviour and organisational digital transformation. Cognitive trust is defined as "a psychological state characterised by several components, the most important of which is some sort of positive expectation regarding others’ behaviour."
4. Innovative Behaviour as a Mediator: Innovative behaviour, described as a "unique blend of ideating, experimenting, problem solving and searching skills," is proposed and found to mediate the relationship between cognitive trust and digital transformation. This means that cognitive trust influences digital transformation partly by fostering innovative behaviour among employees.
5. Role Conflict as a Moderator: Role conflict, arising from "competing or contradictory expectations and demands related to their role or position in an organisation or group," is identified as a crucial factor influencing the human-technology dynamic and the effectiveness of cognitive trust and innovative behaviour. This conflict is particularly relevant in digital transformation due to "role conflation, where individuals’ roles and responsibilities become blurred or overlapping because of the shifting human technology dynamic."

Excerpts from "Towards explaining the effects of the human-technology dynamic on human agency in digital transformations" by Mohsin Malik et al in International Journal of Information Management, Vol. 84, 2025 available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401225000477?via%3Dihub

This briefing document summarises the key themes and findings of a research paper that investigates the influence of employees' cognitions (specifically, psychological safety) and behaviours (employee-led process improvement) on data-driven digital transformation and ultimately, operational productivity.

• Socio-Cognitive Theory as a Framework: The study employs socio-cognitive theory, which posits a "triadic relationship between social environment, human cognitions (personal processes) and behaviours (outcomes)" to explain how employees' psychological safety (a cognition) influences their engagement in employee-led process improvement (a behaviour), leading to organisational attainments like data-driven digital transformation and improved operational productivity.
• Psychological Safety as a Key Driver: The research defines psychological safety as a "'shared belief held by employees that their work environment values their contributions and talent, and is safe to ask questions, ask for help, share views, knowledge and concerns, and admit making mistakes without the risk of being penalised'" . The authors argue that a psychologically safe environment encourages mutual respect, trust, and the willingness to share ideas, crucial for collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Employee-Led Process Improvement as a Behavioural Outcome: The study defines employee-led process improvement in a hospital setting as a "'set of social practices that encourage team-work, empowerment and process/quality improvement in a hospital environment'" (adapted from Narayanan et al., 2022).
• Data-Driven Digital Transformation as an Organisational Attainment: This is described as the "use of digital technologies and the data these digital technologies produce to introduce significant improvements and changes to operations, strategies, and customer experiences" (Papanagnou et al., 2022).
• Operational Productivity as the Outcome of Interest: Defined as the "ratio of the total output about the total input in any transformation process" (Ong et al., 2021), operational productivity in a hospital setting reflects "'operational capabilities that target the efficient use of resources and the input-output ratio'" (adapted from Shah and Ward, 2007).
• Managerial Implications: The findings underscore the importance of viewing employees as key stakeholders in digital transformation initiatives, shifting the focus beyond purely technological solutions.
• Management should prioritise creating a social environment that fosters psychological safety to encourage employee engagement, risk-taking, and open communication, which are vital for both process improvement and successful digital transformation.
• The identification of different pathways (individual and serial mediations) guides resource allocation and strategic interventions to enhance operational productivity. Implementing strategies to improve psychological safety can lead to operational benefits through fostering employee-led improvements and facilitating the adoption and effectiveness of data-driven digital transformation.
• The study suggests that a holistic approach, considering both employee-led initiatives and data-driven technologies within a psychologically safe environment, will maximise the positive impact on operational productivity.

Source: Excerpts from Malik et al. 2024 "A socio-cognitive theorisation of how data-driven digital transformation affects operational productivity?" Free version available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527324002603