Systems thinking (ST) is an interdisciplinary domain that offers different ways to better understand the behavior and structure of a complex system. Over the past decades, several publications can be identified in academic literature, focusing on different aspects of systems thinking. However, two critical questions are not properly addressed in the extant body of ST literature: (i) How to conduct the content analysis exclusively to derive the prominent statistics (i.e., influential journals, authors, affiliated organizations and countries) pertaining to the domain of ST? (ii) How to get better insights regarding the current and emerging trends that may evolve over time based on the existing body of ST literature? To address these gaps, the aim of this research study is to provide a comprehensive insight into the domain of systems thinking through bibliometric and network analysis. Beginning with over 6000 accumulated publications, the analysis narrowed down to 626 prominent articles with proven influence published over the past three decades. Leveraging rigorous bibliometric tools analysis, this research unveils the influential authors, leading journals and top contributing organizations and countries germane to the domain of systems thinking. In addition, citation, co-citation and page rank analysis used to rank top influential articles in the area of systems thinking. Finally, with the aid of the network analysis, key clusters in the existing literature are identified based on the research areas of systems thinking. The findings of this research will serve as a bluebook for practitioners and scholars to conduct future research within systems thinking context.

Organizations and practitioners must contend with systems that operate in complex problem domains characterized by increasing complexity, ambiguity, uncertainty, and emergence. Systems thinking (ST) has been suggested as a framework of thought, based in holistic understanding of systems, to aid in dealing with increasingly complex systems and their problems. The primary contribution of the paper is examination of both individual capacity and corresponding organizational competence related to ST as a response to more effectively navigate the complex problem domain facing practitioners and organizations. Following a short introduction, we have organized the paper to explore four primary areas. First, we examine the nature of the complex problem domain confronting organizations and practitioners. Second, we suggest individual capacity and organizational competence as two essential areas necessary for ST to offer a response to more effectively navigate the complex problem domain. Third, we present an in depth examination of individual capacity for ST. Fourth, we develop a perspective of organizational competencies in relation to engaging ST. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges and implications for further development and application of ST.

In recent years, the area of supply chain resilience has received heightened attention as a plethora of new risks, ranging from climate change to cybersecurity and infectious diseases, have emerged as serious threats to operational performance. The COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, has exposed the fragility of global supply chains in many sectors. Given these concerns, supply chain networks, including those designed based on the principles of lean philosophies, are increasingly being re-examined as firms grapple with the challenge of strengthening the capacity to withstand, absorb, and rebound from unexpected shocks. Addressing the urgency of this imperative, this study presents a novel framework—based on theories and concepts in the systems engineering (SE) and supply chain resilience domains to enhance the resilience implementation capabilities that are lacking in many of today's firms. By applying a Grounded Theory methodology, this study develops and validates a conceptual model that identifies six core attributes fundamental to developing resilience capabilities in complex supply chains. The study concludes by providing examples of, and insights into, the role of these attributes in building supply chain resilience.