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Abstract

This is the second segment of a two-part paper, which attempts to strengthen a bridge between theoretical and practical worlds by bringing information from organizations to complexity theorists. It is written as a boundary object to encourage further research, dialogue and conclusions. This paper focuses on one theme from complexity and new science literature: the theme of boundaries. A relatively new methodology, phenomenography, is used as an inductive method of inquiry to explore qualitatively different ways in which published authors and graduate students understand the related concepts of boundary, edge and periphery. These authors’ unsolicited views of the boundary concept ranged from micro to macro in scale, and from detached observation to personal activism in nature. This study suggests that boundaries are important areas for learning, growth, risk, and observation and repair of systemic challenges, and that they deserve further iterative or collaborative research in relation to complexity thinking.