Value plurality and multifunctional commensuration in organisation: A systems‐theoretical approach

Ro h, S e en; Sales, Augus o; Valen ino , Vladisla
A icle — Published Ve sion
Value plu ali y and mul i unc ional commensu a ion in
o ganisa ion: A sys ems‐ heo e ical app oach
Sys ems Resea ch and Beha io al Science
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Leibniz Ins i u e o Ag icul u al De elopmen in T ansi ion Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale)
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Ro h, S e en; Sales, Augus o; Valen ino , Vladisla (2025) : Value plu ali y
and mul i unc ional commensu a ion in o ganisa ion: A sys ems‐ heo e ical app oach, Sys ems
Resea ch and Beha io al Science, ISSN 1099-1743, Wiley, Chiches e [u.a.], Vol. 42, Iss. 2, pp.
553-562,
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Sys ems Resea ch and Beha io al Science, 2025; 42:553–562
h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/s es.3135
553
Sys ems Resea ch and Beha io al Science
RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS
Value Plu ali y and Mul i unc ional Commensu a ion in
O ganisa ion: A Sys ems- Theo e ical App oach
S e enRo h1,2 | Augus oSales2,3 | Vladisla Valen ino 2,4,5
1CERIIM, Excelia Business School, La Rochelle, F ance | 2Nex Socie y Ins i u e, Kazimie as Simona ičius Uni e si y, Vilnius, Li huania | 3B azilian
School o Public and Business Adminis a ion, FGV EBAPE, Rio de Janei o, B azil | 4Depa men o S uc u al Change, Leibniz Ins i u e o Ag icul u al
De elopmen in T ansi ion Economies, Halle, Ge many | 5Depa men o Law and Economics, Ma in Lu he Uni e si y, Halle, Ge many
Co espondence: Vladisla Valen ino ( alen ino @iamo.de)
Recei ed: 13 Janua y 2025 | Accep ed: 20 Janua y 2025
Keywo ds: ca bon a ioning| unc ional di e en ia ion| non- economic quan i ica ion| non- inancial alua ion| social sys ems heo y| sus ainabili y
ABSTRACT
This a icle aims o challenge he p e ailing economic bias in s udies o o ganised alua ion and commensu a ion by explo ing
he b oade plu ali y o alues ha o ganisa ions mus manage. The a icle d aws on social sys ems heo y in he adi ion o
Ge man sociologis Niklas Luhmann o concep ualise o ganisa ions as mul i unc ional sys ems o decisions ha pe ain o and
commensu a e a plu ali y alues associa ed wi h a di e se se o alue domains, also known as ‘ unc ion sys ems’. The u ili y
o he p oposed amewo k is demons a ed h ough cases ela ed o ca bon a ioning and legal issues du ing he co ona i us
c isis. A key inding is ha commensu a ion is no limi ed o p ocesses domina ed by inancial me ics, as poli ical and educa-
ional me ics, among o he s, can also se e as p ima y d i e s o commensu a ion p ocesses, e ec i ely guiding o ganisa ional
decision- making. The pape demons a es how o ganisa ions can e ec i ely commensu a e di e se alue sys ems wi hou e-
lying solely on inancial me ics and concludes ha u u e esea ch in non- / inancial o alua ion and commensu a ion will
be c ucial o de eloping mo e nuanced and mul i ace ed s a egies and concep s, including mul i unc ional app oaches o he
o ma ion, jus i ica ion, and managemen o mo al judgemen s and alues.
1 | In oduc ion
The a ibu ion o alue o social and en i onmen al e en s o
ac o s is becoming a popula a ea o in e es in sus ainabili y
esea ch as much as in business and managemen s udies, whe e
his s eam o alua ion esea ch is cha ac e ised by a pe cei ed
con lic be ween economic alue and social o en i onmen al
alues. Sus ainabili y epo ing, he public disclosu e o an o -
ganisa ion's en i onmen al, social and co po a e go e nance
(ESG) pe o mance, o example, is o en seen as a quan i ica ion
o social and en i onmen al alues ha subo dina es hese al-
ues o economic alue (Pa i 2020, 2024; an Bommel, Rasche,
and Spice  2023). O he p ominen opics include he com-
modi ica ion o en i onmen al ac o s (Fou cade2011; Kallis,
Gómez- Bagge hun, and Zog a os 2013) o he inancialisa ion
o i ually e e y hing (Zelize 1994), wo p ocesses hough o
educe ‘deep’ o ‘in insic’ mo al alues (Donaldson2021) o as-
pec s o economic p o i abili y.
Al hough he ield pu s signi ican emphasis on he di e ence
be ween he mo al quali ies o en i onmen al and social al-
ues as compa ed o he allegedly less mo al economic alue,
i has no placed equally high alue on s udying he di e si y
o alues wi hin social and en i onmen al domains so a .
Neglec ing he impo ance o he plu ali y o alues (A jaliès
and Bansal 2018; A jaliès, Lau el- Fois, and Mo is 2023)
wi hin hese domains, howe e , is p oblema ic because o -
ganisa ions mus no only b idge he gaps be ween hem
(Gao and Bansal2013) bu also manage inc easingly di e se
and o en con lic ing expec a ions wi hin each domain o
achie e sus ainabili y. Sus ainabili y ensions (Ca mine and
De Ma chi2023; Hahn e al.2018) he e o e eme ge no only
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License, which pe mi s use, dis ibu ion and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is
p ope ly ci ed.
© 2025 The Au ho (s). Sys ems Resea ch and Beha io al Science published by In e na ional Fede a ion o Sys ems Resea ch and John Wiley & Sons L d.
554 Sys ems Resea ch and Beha io al Science, 2025
because ope a ions ha a e bene icial o an o ganisa ion's
economic sus ainabili y migh be de imen al o i s social o
na u al en i onmen bu also because o ganisa ions a e con-
on ed wi h di e se se s o s akeholde s (Co be , Webs e ,
and Jenkin 2018; Hahn e al.2015; Neesham, Dembek, and
Benke 2023; Pies, Beckmann, and Hielsche 2014; Pies and
Valen ino 2024; Valen ino 2022a, 2023), each ep esen ing
di e en and po en ially con lic ing en i onmen al and social
alues. Whe eas some s akeholde s migh expec o ganisa ions
o p o ec hei na u al en i onmen om nega i e ex e nal-
i ies, o he s migh expec hem o go u he and ‘ es o e-
p ese e- enhance’ (Hahn and Tampe 2021) i . Ye , o he
s akeholde s migh be mo e conce ned wi h issues o social
sus ainabili y as hey align wi h hei p e e ed alue domain,
such as he poli ical, scien i ic, educa ional o eligious one.
Though incommensu able in na u e, howe e , hese domains
ha e emained subsumed wi hin he ca ego y o he ‘social’,
which is mo eo e mo ally and concep ually opposed o he
economic domain, as i economic alue and social o en i on-
men al alues we e loca ed in ‘hos ile wo lds’ (Zelize 2010,
277), whe e ‘con ac be ween hose sepa a e wo lds co up s
in bo h di ec ions’, a he han ep esen ing di e en dimen-
sions o a plu ali y o social alues. As a esul , he pe cei ed
con lic be ween seemingly amo al economic alue on he one
hand and seemingly mo al social and en i onmen al alues
on he o he hand has o e shadowed he impo ance o alue
plu ali y wi hin social and en i onmen al domains.
The aim o his a icle is o add ess his a i icial and mo ally
cha ged sepa a ion, as well as he associa ed neglec o e-
sea ch in social alue plu ali y, by explo ing how bo h economic
and o he social alues a e commensu a ed in o ganisa ional
con ex s.
To his end, Sec ion2 explo es he concep o alua ion as he
social cons uc ion o alue, also showing ha key concep s o
alua ion s udies, such as quan i ica ion and commensu a ion,
ha e been o e iden i ied wi h inancia ionalisa ion and o he
o ms o economic quan i ica ion.
To challenge his economic bias in esea ch on o ganised
quan i ica ion and commensu a ion, Sec ion3 hen p esen s a
sys ems- heo e ical pe spec i e ha iews o ganisa ions as sys-
ems o decisions ha ela e o a plu ali y o economic, poli ical,
scien i ic, eligious, legal and u he social alues. This ap-
p oach maps (a) he plu ali y o alues wi hin he social domain
and (b) he plu ali y o bo h economic and en i onmen al alues
on o he social. Based on he esul ing amewo k, he sec ion
u he demons a es how o ganisa ions ope a e commensu a-
ions be ween alues associa ed wi h a plu ali y o incommen-
su able social alue domains, which social sys ems heo y e e s
o as unc ion sys ems.
Sec ion 4 hen discusses wo examples whe e o ganised com-
mensu a ion be ween selec ed unc ion sys ems was pe o med
wi hou eso o inancial me ics o whe e inancial me ics
we e subo dina ed o non- inancial ones, espec i ely.
The inal sec ion o his a icle no only sugges s se e al a e-
nues o u u e esea ch in o he plu ali y o alues and o ms
o alua ion, including a ious o ms o non- inancial/ inancial
commensu a ion, bu also emphasises ha his plu ali y neces-
si a es new, ‘mul i unc ional’ app oaches o he o ma ion and
jus i ica ion o mo al alue judgemen s.
2 | Value, Valua ion and Commensu a ion
The concep o alua ion e e s o he social cons uc ion o alue
(Lamon 2012; Zucke man2012) and co esponding de ini ions
o objec s o e en s ha coun as such. Though alua ion may
also be a ma e o adi ion a he han decision, mos wo ks
in alua ion s udies ha e ocused on delibe a e o ms o alue
c ea ion in con ex s such as he e alua ion o a (Plan e, F ee,
and Andon2021; Plan e, Mai e, and Pucci2022), he commod-
i ica ion o na u e (Fou cade2011), he asse isa ion o baseball
playe s (Nappe and Plan e2023) o he un esol ed challenge
o aluing asse s and calcula ing adequa e ‘ ans e p ices’ no
only wi h ega d o spo s and o he domains o socie y bu also
wi hin he economic domain i sel (Aga onow and Pe ez2024a).
Wi h some excep ions (e.g., Chong 2013), mos wo ks in his
sample ocus on cases o economic alua ion, ha is, p ocesses
by which non- economic objec s o e en s a e asc ibed economic
alue, which ypically akes he o m o inancial quan i ica-
ion. Though quan i ica ion is no limi ed o p izing and o he
o ms o inancialised alua ion (A jaliès, Lau el- Fois, and
Mo is2023; Islam2022) bu also occu s in he non- economic
ealm (as shown no leas in Sec ion4 o his a icle), quan i i-
ca ion has become i mly associa ed wi h economic alua ion
as ‘ inancializa ion has pe mea ed all ypes o o ganiza ions,
making inancial numbe s he dominan calcula i e de ice o
con empo a y socie ies’ (A jaliès and Bansal2018).
Recen ly, Espeland and Yung (2019) ha e iden i ied h ee
aspec s o quan i ica ion ha migh aise mo al conce ns.
Numbe s s ee a en ion, de e mining wha is conside ed el-
e an and wha emains ou side i s scope. This implies ha
s a emen s abou wha should be measu ed can be ega ded
as mo al alue s a emen s (see also Espeland and Saude 2007;
Ko nbe ge 2017). Quan i ica ion also se es as a means o con-
ol and compliance which asse s powe o e pe sons o o gan-
isa ions, he eby u ning i in o a ma e loaded wi h conce ns
ega ding e hical exe cise o powe . As quan i ica ion is a way o
keep hings unde con ol, i can also se e educa ional pu poses
by de e mining compliance wi h ce ain expec a ions and allo-
ca ing ewa ds o complian ac o s o en i ies. I is he e o e only
consequen ial ha anking and ewa d sys ems a e ex ensi ely
applied in and o ins i u ions o highe educa ion (Al esson,
Einola, and Schae e  2022; Jemielniak and G eenwood 2015;
Espeland and Saude 2007).
In e es ingly, howe e , he conce ns ela ed o poli ical powe
and educa ion implied in hese c i iques o quan i ica ion
e lec a plu ali y o alue domains ha challenges he dom-
inan ocus on quan i ica ion as inancialisa ion. This obse -
a ion also aligns wi h ea lie wo k in which Espeland and
S e ens(1998) ha e p oblema ised p ac ices o commensu a-
ion inhe en in many p ocesses o quan i ica ion. By u ilising
quan i ica ion, o he wise incompa able, incommensu able
ac o s a e made compa able and commensu able (see also
Aga onow and Pe ez 2024b). Th ough his ‘ ans o ma ion
o di e en quali ies in o a common me ic’ (Espeland and
10991743a, 2025, 2, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/s es.3135, Wiley Online Lib a y on [27/03/2025]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License
555
S e ens 1998, 314), quan i ica ion ac s as a uni e sal scale,
le elling he playing ield o all ac o s o be assessed on
an equal oo ing. This is he case when, o example, a ing
agencies combine en i onmen al, social and co po a e go e -
nance ac o s in o one single sco e (C ace and Gehman2023),
a p ac ice ha migh appea as p oblema ic i hese agencies
ac as mo al black boxes (Esposi o and S a k2019) ha do no
disclose in o ma ion ega ding he ela i e alue hey ha e as-
c ibed o he di e en ESG ac o s.
Concep s and c i iques o commensu a ion, he e o e, imply
a plu ali y o alues ha anscends he p e alen o e -
iden i ica ion o quan i ica ion wi h inancialisa ion, in which
con ex economic and non- economic alues a e ea ed as hos-
ile wo lds.
In he subsequen sec ion o his a icle, he a icle p esen s a
sys ems- heo e ical amewo k o alua ion and quan i ica ion
s udies ha is nei he biased o ansla ions o non- economic
alues in o economic alue no based on he aci assump ion
ha en i onmen al o social alues a e mo ally supe io o eco-
nomic ones.
3 | Commensu a ion in O ganisa ion: A
Sys ems- Theo e ical App oach
I alua ion s udies in managemen and o ganisa ion esea ch
conside alua ion a ma e o decision a he han adi ion,
hen he ques ion a ises o how decisions ela e o he plu ali y
o alues ha shape alua ion p ocesses.
A social sys ems- heo e ical answe o his ques ion can build
on sha ed cons uc i is ounda ions o bo h alua ion s udies
and social sys ems heo y. As alues and alua ions a e so-
cial cons uc s in alua ion s udies, so oo a e decisions in so-
cial sys ems heo y in he adi ion o Niklas Luhmann(2008,
2013, 2018) no men al ope a ions o indi idual human be-
ings, bu speci ic o ms o communica ion (Ah ne, Aspe s,
and B unsson 2015; Blagoe  2024; Coo en 2020; He nes and
Bakken2003; Knudsen2011; Rasche and Seidl2020; Teka hen
and Dechow2020).
I is no he case ha decisions a e i s made and
hen communica ed; decisions a e communica ions,
which, in con as o ‘o dina y’ communica ions,
a e desc ibed as ‘compac communica ions’ (…) ha
consis o wo pa s. While he o dina y a ian
communica es only he selec ed con en , a decision
communica es also ha a selec ion has been made;
i.e., ha he e we e al e na i es o he selec ed con en
ha could ha e been—bu we e no —selec ed. (Seidl
and Mo mann2014, 139)
Value communica ion is an e en mo e compac o m o com-
munica ion inso a as alues a e p e e ences o selec ed al-
e na i es ha aci ly p esen hemsel es as al e na i eless. I
we e e o jus ice as alue, hen we imply a p e e ence o
jus ice o e injus ice. I jus ice is one o ou alues, and we
a e con on ed wi h he choice be ween a jus and an unjus
al e na i e, we do no ha e much o a choice. Thus, alues
p e en decisions. A he same ime, alues igge decisions.
‘Like s a s in he hea ens he e a e coun less alues’, ye he e
is ‘no i m hie a chical ( ansi i e) o de o such a ype ha
ce ain alues a e always p e e able o ce ain o he ones, o
ins ance, ha eedom is mo e impo an han secu i y in
e e y case, peace always mo e impo an han eedom, jus-
ice always mo e impo an han peace, e c. The ques ion o
p e e ence is only decided in ad ance when a alue e e s o
i s opposi e (peace is be e han wa ), bu no when i e e s
o he con adic o y demands o a ious dis inc ions be ween
alue and non- alue’ (Luhmann2008, 28 ).
Thus, such con adic o y demands be ween di e en alues
cons i u e p ecisely ‘ hose ques ions ha a e in p inciple un-
decidable’, which ( on Foe s e 1992, 14) amously iden i ied
as p e equisi es o decisions. In o he wo ds: ‘decisions a e
always and only due when alues pose con lic ing demands
(because i no , he decision would al eady be decided)’
(Luhmann2008, 29).
I we u he concede wi h Luhmann(2018) ha o ganisa ions
a e sys ems o decision communica ion, i ollows ha o gan-
isa ions sys ema ically e e o a b oad scope o alues as hey
seek o manage con lic s be ween hem. O ganisa ions do so by
using pas decisions as p emises o u u e ones, hus o ming
complex s uc u es, including o ganisa ional p og ammes ha
de ine whe he decisions a e made co ec ly.
E iden ly, an o ganisa ion's p og amma ic o ien a ion o al-
ues is aligned wi h i s speci ic pu pose. As shown by a ecen
s eam o esea ch (La Cou and Højlund2017; Ro h, Sales,
and Kai o- oja2017; Ro h e al.2020; Sales e al.2022; Sales,
Mansu , and Ro h 2023; Ro h 2023; Valen ino , Ro h, and
Will 2019; an Assche, Valen ino , and Ve sch aegen 2022;
Will, Ro h, and Valen ino 2018), howe e , o ganisa ions a e
less one- dimensional in hei alue o ien a ion han com-
monly assumed. T ue, o ganisa ions pu sue specialised mis-
sion. Mos go e nmen s, o example, a e less conce ned wi h
managing con adic o y demands o eligious alues han
mos chu ches a e. Ye , ega dless o hei co e mission o
pu pose, mos o ganisa ions a e o some deg ee o ien ed o
a b oad scope o social domains. Bo h chu ches and go e n-
men s, beyond hei p ima y eligious o poli ical missions,
engage in ac i i ies such as managing inances, educa ing
s a , complying wi h legal equi emen s and in e ac ing wi h
he media. In o al, he au ho s iden i y app oxima ely 10
social domains o ‘ unc ion sys ems’ (including poli ics, a ,
science, eligion, educa ion, heal h, law, he mass media and
he economy, he la e o which social sys ems heo y iews
as one unc ional subsys em o socie y, among o he s) and
demons a e ha mos o ganisa ions e e o mos o hese
unc ion sys ems. Consequen ly, o ganisa ions a e desc ibed
as undamen ally ‘mul i unc ional’ sys ems o decision.
As o ganisa ions e e o and manage he di e en alues associ-
a ed wi h hese di e en unc ion sys ems, hey also need o make
hem commensu able. Such commensu a ions a e o en no me ely
necessa y side ope a ions ha suppo he pu sui o he co e mis-
sion; ins ead, hey equen ly cons i u e he co e mission i sel . The
Con e gan Founda ion o People wi h Disabili ies is a case in poin .
10991743a, 2025, 2, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/s es.3135, Wiley Online Lib a y on [27/03/2025]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License
556 Sys ems Resea ch and Beha io al Science, 2025
As ou lined by Ro h(2014), be ween 1957 and 1961, he Ge man
pha maceu ical company G ünen hal GmbH dis ibu ed he now
no o ious anquillise Con e gan ( halidomide). When aken by
p egnan women, Con e gan caused se e e bi h de ec s. In 1961
alone, G ünen hal ecei ed o e 1600 u gen wa nings abou he
d ug. Mo eo e , he company did no deny ha by 16 No embe
1961, i was ully awa e o he d ug's ha m ul e ec s. Despi e his,
Con e gan con inued o be dis ibu ed un il 26 No embe 1961,
a day a e he Ge man newspape Wel am Sonn ag published a
ele an a icle. By his ime, a leas 5000 child en had been bo n
wi h se e e bi h de ec s, no o men ion an unknown numbe
o p ena al dea hs. The c iminal case agains he company was
concluded in 1970 a e 283 days in cou . Eigh mon hs ea lie ,
G ünen hal and he pa en s o a ec ed child en had eached a
p i a e se lemen : The company paid a lump sum o 100 million
Ge man ma ks (DM), leading o he c ea ion o a Founda ion o
he Relie o Handicapped Child en, la e enamed he Con e gan
Founda ion o People wi h Disabili ies. The ounda ion's pu pose
was o coo dina e he dis ibu ion o compensa ion o bi h de-
ec s acco ding o he scheme ou lined in Table1.
Table 1 p o ides an o e iew wi h he i s column lis ing a
quan i a i e indica o (Schadenspunk e, li e ally ‘damage poin s’
in he Ge man o iginal) o a child's de o mi y, ca ego ised in o
14 le els anging om ela i ely mild (1–4.99) o he mos se e e
(80 and abo e). The second and hi d columns hen assign spe-
ci ic mone a y compensa ion o each ca ego y, including bo h a
lump sum and a mon hly pension. This quan i ica ion goes be-
yond me ely pu ing a p ice on a mo al issue. Ins ead, i e eals
ha quan i ica ion and mone isa ion a e wo dis inc p ocesses.
Ini ially, he indi idual issues ela ed o Con e gan we e sub-
jec ed o medical classi ica ion. Only a e his medical anking
was es ablished could he con e sion be ween medical assess-
men and economic alua ion occu . In o he wo ds, Table1 p o-
ides a abula ep esen a ion o he co e decision p og amme
o an o ganisa ion whose pu pose is o ansla e a heal h issue
in o an economic one in o de o add ess a legal p oblem. Thus,
he Con e gan Founda ion is a p ime example o an o ganisa ion
whe e commensu a ion is i s co e mission.
Al hough i highligh s he di e ence be ween quan i ica ion and
inancialisa ion, he p esen case sha es a ce ain economy bias
wi h he b oade discou se on alua ion and commensu a ion, as i
is once mo e a inancial me ic ha se es as ‘ he dominan calcu-
la i e de ice o con empo a y socie ies’ (A jaliès and Bansal2018).
To add ess his bias, in he subsequen sec ion o his a icle, he
ocus will be on cases whe e inancial me ics play a di e en
ole, o no ole a all.
4 | Co ona i us, Ca bon and C edi s: Th ee Cases
o Non- o T anseconomic Commensu a ion
In he co ona i us c isis, indi idual igh s such as he eedom
o mo emen we e se e ely limi ed. In he la e cou se o he
c isis, some o hese indi idual igh s we e g aciously e u ned
o indi iduals who complied wi h ce ain heal h measu es. In
au umn 2021, o example, wo Ge man ede al s a es dec eed
ha pe sons who had ecei ed a so- called boos e accina ion
we e exemp om he equi emen o unde go a COVID es be-
o e en e ing ce ain spaces ha whe e accessible o es ed and
accina ed indi iduals bu es ic ed o un accina ed pe sons.
Res au an s, ba s, disco heques, museums, cinemas, shops and
many o he o ganisa ions we e he e o e compelled o imple-
men and en o ce compliance wi h he ollowing simple p o-
g amme (see Table2).
Table2 p esen s a poli ical p og amme ha de ines a pe son's
legal s a us based on hei heal h s a us. Such p og ammes
TABLE 1 | Quan i ica ion and economisa ion o pain (T ansla ion om Ge man Bundesanzeige N° 189, 06.10.1973).
Damage poin s Compensa ion payo Mon hly pension
1–4,99 2.500,– DM —
5–9,99 5.000,– DM —
10–14,99 7.500,– DM 100,– DM
15–19,99 7.500,– DM 150,– DM
20–24,99 15.000,– DM 200,– DM
25–29,99 15.000,– DM 250,– DM
30–34,99 12.500,– DM 300,– DM
35–39,99 12.500,– DM 350,– DM
40–44,99 15.000,– DM 400,– DM
45–49,99 15.000,– DM 450,– DM
50–59,99 17.500,– DM 450,– DM
60–69,99 20.000,– DM 450,– DM
70–79,99 22.500,– DM 450,– DM
80–… 25.000,– DM 450,– DM
Sou ce: Ro h(2014).
10991743a, 2025, 2, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/s es.3135, Wiley Online Lib a y on [27/03/2025]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License

557
we e common du ing he co ona i us c isis and ins alled as a
sub ou ine in many o ganisa ional con ex s. As a esul , many
o ganisa ions ou inely ansla ed heal h issues in o legal ones.
Al hough no de oid o quan i ica ion, he p og amme ou lined
in Table2 is ee o any e e ence o inancial me ics, making i
a clea case o non- economic commensu a ion.
Ano he example whe e inancial me ics a e no he domi-
nan calcula i e de ice in ol es he concep o pe sonal ca bon
allowances (PCA). Re e ing o PCA as a o m o commensu-
a ion no domina ed by inancial conside a ions may ini ially
seem coun e in ui i e. The idea o PCA ypically en ails he al-
loca ion o an indi idual ca bon allowance, which is deduc ed
whene e he pe son engages in ca bon- in ensi e consump ion.
Pe sons wi h a ca bon- neu al o ca bon- conscious li es yle ac-
cumula e a su plus o PCA, which hey can sell o pe sons wi h
mo e ca bon- in ensi e li es yles o , as discussed in he con ex
o a simila scheme o adeable ene gy quo as (S a key2012, 9),
o eigne s who ha e no been alloca ed PCA in a ce ain coun y
o egion. As he allowance would be cons an ly educed in line
wi h en i onmen al policies, ca bon- in ensi e li es yles would
become inc easingly cos ly o e ime, hus incen i ising indi id-
uals o ansi ion o en i onmen ally sus ainable li es yles.
Excep o some pilo s, PCA ading schemes ha e no been im-
plemen ed ye mainly due o an icipa ed public accep abili y is-
sues (B is ow e al.2010). Since he co ona i us c isis, howe e ,
a g owing numbe o oices ha e called o e i alisa ion o he
concep . This s a emen om a pe spec i e a icle in na u e sus-
ainabili y is a case in poin :
In pa icula , du ing he COVID- 19 pandemic,
es ic ions on indi iduals o he sake o public
heal h, and o ms o indi idual accoun abili y and
esponsibili y ha we e un hinkable only one yea
be o e, ha e been adop ed by millions o people.
People may be mo e p epa ed o accep he acking
and limi a ions ela ed o PCAs o achie e a sa e
clima e and he many o he bene i s ( o example,
educed ai pollu ion and imp o ed public heal h)
associa ed wi h add essing he clima e c isis. (Fuso
Ne ini e al.2021, 1027)
This line o a gumen a ion was p ominen ly suppo ed, no leas
by he Wo ld Economic Fo um, and in e es in he concep has
been g owing again (see, e.g., Tan Ro h2023).
Al hough he po en ial oll- ou o a scheme o adable PCA may
seem like a p ime example o he inancialisa ion o e e y hing
(Zelize  1994), including clima e change, PCA ading ul i-
ma ely is a o m o ca bon a ioning, and hus a poli ical ma ke
in e en ion a he han a case o economic ma ke isa ion. This
assessmen is u he suppo ed by discussions abou pu chase
limi s o indi idual ca bon allowances o ‘a oid excess pe sonal
use o ca bon’ by a luen indi iduals and o p e en specula ion
(B is ow e al.2010).
The ul ima e pu pose o a s ill- ic i ious o ganisa ion o o gan-
isa ional ecosys em cha ged wi h he implemen a ion o a PCA
alloca ion, deduc ion and ading scheme would hence be a po-
li ical one. Much like in he case o he co ona i us c isis, his
pu pose would be he causa ion o poli ically desi ed le els o
scien i ically measu ed alues and hei e en ual educ ion
o ze o.
I he educ ion o ca bon emission me ics is he ac ual goal o
PCA schemes and simila policies, hen a po en ially eme ging
PCA ade would only be a ansi o y and ce ainly no he ul i-
ma ely desi ed policy ou come (see Table3).
As shown in Table3, he ul ima e ou come o ca bon a ioning
policies, such as PCA schemes, would be ha indi iduals a oid
he cos s associa ed wi h exceeding hei ca bon ‘consump ion’
a ion and a he pe o m li es yle changes ha lead o he de-
si ed educ ion o he o al ca bon emissions a ibu ed o a
gi en popula ion. The mo e indi iduals comply wi h hese li e-
s yle expec a ions, he less signi ican he economic dimension
o his poli ically en o ced a i icial sho age o a supe abundan
gas becomes, and he clea e ha he pu po ed end o his a-
ioning policy is, in ac , educa ional.
The wo cases p esen ed in his sec ion show ha commensu-
a ion is no limi ed o p ocesses whe e inancial o o he eco-
nomic me ics a e he dominan calcula i e de ice. Bu in he
case o ca bon a ioning, economic me ics play a ole only i
indi idual beha iou ails o s ay wi hin a poli ically de ined
ange o scien i ic me ics, which p ima ily se es an educa-
ional pu pose, he commensu a ion o heal h s a us in o legal
igh s du ing he co ona i us c isis ope a ed en i ely wi hou
e e ence o economic me ics.
TABLE 2 | Legal s a us as a unc ion o heal h s a us. A common
sub ou ine du ing he co ona i us c isis (own able).
Heal h s a us Legal s a us
Boos e accina ion F eedom o mo emen
wi hou es
Two accina ions (o
documen ed eco e y)
F eedom o mo emen
wi h es
No accina ion No eedom o mo emen
TABLE 3 | Poli ical commensu a ion o ca bon emission me ics
and po en ial policy ou comes (own able).
Scien i ic
quan i ica ion o
ca bon emissions
Poli ical
ca bon
a ioning
Po en ial policy
ou comes
Highe Abo e
declining
a ion
Economy: ca bon
p icing and ade
Lowe Wi hin
declining
a ion
Educa ion:
li es yle change
Ze o No a ion End o policy?
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558 Sys ems Resea ch and Beha io al Science, 2025
The concep o alue plu ali y is also inc easingly ele an
in a globalised and echnologically d i en socie y whe e he
pe asi e in luence o algo i hms in a ing and e alua ing
beha iou is e iden he e e yday digi al in e ac ions expe-
ienced globally (Tække2011). Pla o ms like Ube use cus-
ome a ings o in luence d i e beha iou and access o
wo k oppo uni ies, whe eas social media pla o ms such
as Ins ag am and Facebook quan i y social alue h ough
likes, sha es and commen s. These sys ems ely on algo i h-
mic go e nance o manage and commensu a e di e se al-
ues— anging om economic beha iou o social and mo al
conduc —wi hin a uni ied amewo k. This end e lec s
wha Luhmann desc ibed as he inc easing unc ional di e -
en ia ion wi hin socie y, whe e di e en alue sys ems, such
as hose in he economy, law and social media, de elop hei
own logics and c i e ia o success. The in eg a ion o hese
alue domains h ough algo i hmic sys ems unde sco es a
b oade mo e owa ds he quan i ica ion and managemen o
beha iou in bo h public and p i a e sphe es.
To da e, pe haps he mos ex eme example is China's Social
C edi Sys em (SCS), which in eg a es a di e se ange o so-
cie al alues wi hin a single go e nance sys em, managed by
he s a e.
The SCS is deeply oo ed in China's long adi ion o bu eau-
c a ic go e nance, whe e sys ems like he Dang'an (pe sonnel
dossie ) ha e his o ically been used o documen and con ol he
beha iou o indi iduals and o icials (Jiang 2020; Malau en
and Meh pouya 2024). These p ac ices laid he g oundwo k
o he mode n SCS, which has signi ican ly expanded in scope
and echnological sophis ica ion. The SCS now in eg a es dig-
i al echnologies o manage and e alua e a b oad spec um o
beha iou s ac oss mul iple socie al domains, including legal,
social and poli ical alues (Mis eanu2018; Tække2022; Tække
and Paulsen 2020; Zou 2021). I in eg a es di e se alue do-
mains—economic, social, legal and poli ical—in o a cohe en
sys em ha assigns sco es o indi iduals and en i ies based on
hei beha iou (Ohlbe g, Ahmed, and Lang2017). Fo ins ance,
he sys em ewa ds inancial compliance and social esponsi-
bili y wi h access o a ou able loan e ms and public se ices
while penalising legal in ac ions and an isocial beha iou wi h
a el es ic ions and public blacklis ing (Zou2021).
Ini ially concei ed o imp o e inancial c edi wo hiness, he
SCS has e ol ed in o a mo e comp ehensi e sys em ha in-
cludes social beha iou s, legal compliance, poli ical loyal y and
o he a iables (C eeme s 2018). This expansion e lec s he
sys em's mul i unc ional na u e, whe ein a ious socie al al-
ues a e commensu a ed and in eg a ed in o a single e alua i e
amewo k. Luhmann's idea o unc ional di e en ia ion helps
us unde s and how he SCS, like o he mode n sys ems, is en-
ginee ed o manage he complexi y a ising om di e se alue
sys ems wi hin a single socie al amewo k.
This mul i ace ed app oach o commensu a ion illus a es he
sys em's abili y o in eg a e and quan i y a wide a ay o alues
wi hin a uni ied amewo k. Howe e , he SCS's eliance on
algo i hmic a ionali y aises e hical conce ns, pa icula ly e-
ga ding he educ ion o complex mo al and social beha iou s
o quan i iable me ics. In his con ex , ‘i is wo hwhile o ecall
ha he no o ious Chinese social c edi sys em s a ed as i-
nancial c edi sco ing sys em simila o hose in place in many
Wes e n coun ies, and ha i has long been ocused mainly on
o ganisa ions’, be o e i was ex ended o include ‘ o non- inancial
aspec s o social li e and an inc easing de ailed moni o ing o in-
di idual beha iou [which] has gi en ise o he conce ns com-
monly associa ed wi h he sys em oday’ (Ro h2023, 101278).
5 | Ou look: Mul i unc ional S udies o O ganised
Valua ion and Commensu a ion
The p esen a icle d ew on he social sys ems- heo e ical con-
cep o unc ional di e en ia ion o emphasise he complexi y
and plu ali y o alues ha o ganisa ions a e con on ed wi h in
di e en socie al con ex s. I s main con en ion is ha commen-
su a ion— he p ocess o making di e en alues compa able—
ex ends beyond economic o inancial me ics and encompasses
a b oade ange o social alues, including poli ical, legal, eli-
gious, scien i ic and heal h- o mass media- ela ed ones. In pa -
icula , his a icle highligh s how di e en unc ions wi hin
o ganisa ions and socie ies o en equi e managing hese di-
e se alue sys ems. To illus a e his poin , he a icle dis-
cussed cases such as he managemen o ca bon emissions, he
heal h s a uses- based policies du ing he co ona i us c isis and
he SCS in China. These examples demons a e how he com-
mensu a ion p ocesses can ope a e e ec i ely wi hou elying
solely on economic me ics, showing ha poli ical, educa ional,
and e en algo i hmically d i en me ics can se e as p ima y
d i e s o commensu a ion. The case o he Chinese SCS, in
pa icula , unde sco es he challenges and e hical dilemmas as-
socia ed wi h consolida ing a plu ali y o alues wi hin a single
e alua i e amewo k. The sys em's eliance on algo i hmic go -
e nance o in eg a e economic, legal, social and poli ical alues
e lec s he complexi ies o ganisa ions ace when a emp ing o
na iga e and manage mul iple, o en con lic ing, alue domains.
This case also se es as a cau iona y example o he po en ial
consequences o o e - eliance on any one me ic o sys em o
alua ion, whe he economic, ecological o o he wise.
Thus, he p esen pape no only unde sco es he impo ance
o acknowledging and managing a plu ali y o alues wi hin
decision- making p ocesses bu also challenges he bias o i-
nancial and o he economic o ms o commensu a ion, whose
analyses p e ail and mo i a e c i icism in alua ion s udies
and managemen and o ganisa ion s udies alike (A jaliès and
Bansal2018).
In d awing on cases such as ca bon a ioning, heal h s a us-
based policies du ing he co ona i us c isis and he Chinese
SCS, his a icle demons a ed ha commensu a ion p ocesses
can ope a e e ec i ely wi hou , o wi hou a p edominance
o , economic me ics, also showing how poli ical and edu-
ca ional algo i hmic me ics can se e as p ima y d i e s o
commensu a ion.
In p oposing a sys ems- heo e ical amewo k o unde s and-
ing how o ganisa ions na iga e he commensu a ion o a i-
ous alues, his a icle mo eo e showed ha o ganisa ions, as
sys ems o decision communica ion, inhe en ly deal wi h mul-
iple and some imes con lic ing alue domains. To go one s ep
10991743a, 2025, 2, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/s es.3135, Wiley Online Lib a y on [27/03/2025]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License
559
u he , one migh e en sugges ha commensu a ion o ul i-
ma ely incommensu able pe spec i es is a key unc ion o gan-
isa ions ha e in mode n socie y. Func ion sys ems a e no only
incommensu able bu also in e dependen , and his in e depen-
dency ul ima ely equi es commensu a ion. A he same ime,
he incommensu abili y o unc ion sys ems equi es media ion,
which is p o ided by o ganisa ions in e ms o commensu a ion.
This a gumen di ec ly ies in o Heinz on Foe s e 's and Niklas
Luhmann's ideas abou how o ganisa ional decisions can only
decide he undecidable, and i also connec s wi h he wo k o
Ches e Ba na d, who explici ly held he econcilia ion o in-
compa ible pe spec i es o be a key ask o managemen (see
Valen ino 2022b; Valen ino and Ro h2021, 2022).
Ano he majo ake- away o his a icle is ha mo al judgemen s
and e hical conside a ions abou he adequacy o o ganisa ional
a emp s a managing hese mul iplici ies and con lic s mus
hemsel es e lec he complexi y o he ma e . This implies
ha hese judgemen s and conside a ions clea ly lag ou hei
own p e e ences o one o se e al unc ion sys ems o socie y
o o he wise ep esen he plu ali y o pe spec i es wi hin he
p ocess o hei o ma ion and jus i ica ion. One such app oach
is p esen ed in Table4.
Table4 shows ha mo al judgemen s abou and e hical conside -
a ions a ound an issue o concep such as PCA ading s ongly
depend on he unc ional alue domains such judgemen s a e
associa ed wi h. F om a poli ical pe spec i e, PCA ading
migh appea as a necessa y and easible s a egy o achie e ce -
ain policy goals. F om an economic pe spec i e, howe e , he
judgemen migh be mo e ambi alen as PCA policies migh no
only open up new oppo uni ies o in es men and ade bu
also cu b economic de elopmen in ce ain indus ies. F om a
scien i ic pe spec i e, he issue migh appea simila ly ambi -
alen as e en i he e we e a unanimous scien i ic consensus
ega ding he need o u gen and adical clima e mi iga ion
measu es, he e would s ill be need o discussion as o whe he
PCA ading quali ies as one such measu e o a he c ea es un-
desi able side e ec s such as la ge- scale eac ance o new o ms
o inequali y and hus be bad om a legal jus ice- pe spec i e.
As we conside a is ic o spo i e pe spec i es on PCA, we also
ind ha some unc ion sys ems migh be a he indi e en i i
comes o he implemen a ion o a PCA scheme in a gi en coun-
y o egion.
The cases p o ided in he pape he e o e also highligh he
po en ial challenges in implemen ing non- economic/economic
commensu a ion p ocesses, which may depend on di e en
s akeholde s' iden i ica ions wi h alues associa ed wi h he a -
ious unc ion sys ems o socie y.
De eloping a b oade unde s anding o managemen and o -
ganisa ion in e ms o commensu a ion equi es he analysis
o la ge scales and scopes o cases, pa icula ly hose in ol ing
non- inancial o ms o commensu a ion. The empi ical chal-
lenge associa ed wi h his endea ou is hen he iden i ica ion o
pe inen cases. To acili a e hei de ec ion, one migh assume
ha mos ep esen a ions o commensu a ion adop a abula
o ma . The e o e, he ques would be o commensu a ion a-
bles. Po en ial a enues o u u e esea ch he e o e include
explo a ions o addi ional con ex s whe e aci o appa en ab-
ula ions o non- economic me ics play a cen al ole, such as in
he ealms o social jus ice, en i onmen al conse a ion o pub-
lic heal h. In hese con ex s, in es iga ing he plu ali y o alues
and ac o s ha in luence public accep ance o non- economic/
economic commensu a ion schemes could p o ide aluable in-
sigh s in o how hese p ocesses can be be e implemen ed. This
also implies a need o u he s udies ha examine how he in-
clusion o non−/economic alues in commensu a ion a ec s o -
ganisa ional decision- making p ocesses, pa icula ly in e ms o
mul i unc ional concep s o long- e m sus ainabili y and s ake-
holde managemen .
Gi en he complexi y o non- economic/economic commensu a-
ion p ocesses, in e disciplina y esea ch ha combines insigh s
om sociology, economics, poli ical science and en i onmen al
s udies could o e a mo e holis ic unde s anding o how di e se
alue sys ems in e ac wi hin o ganisa ions and socie y. The
case o he SCS, wi h i s a - eaching implica ions, unde sco es
he need o such in e disciplina y app oaches o ully g asp he
e hical and p ac ical challenges in ol ed.
Las bu no leas , compa a i e esea ch ac oss di e en coun-
ies, cul u es o indus ies should shed ligh on how di e en
socie al con ex s in luence he commensu a ion o alues and
he esul ing ou comes.
Simila o he case o he co ona i us c isis, whe e public ocus
was di ec ed o a small se o now la gely i ele an heal h indi-
ca o s, he p essing conce n wi h clima e change isks d i ing
us owa ds o e - eliance on ye ano he na ow se o me ics o
alues such as ca bon emissions o ‘plane a y heal h’ o which
all o he me ics o alues should subo dina e. Whe eas he
issues su ounding he pe cei ed inancialisa ion o all social
domains ha e been widely discussed, he po en ial dange s o
eplacing inancial me ics wi h na u al scien i ic indica o s,
heal h me ics o algo i hmically d i en measu es ha e e-
mained unde explo ed. This lack o sc u iny is pa ly due o he
mo ally cha ged sepa a ion be ween economic alue and social
and en i onmen al alues. Al hough economic me ics, such
as hose de eloped by inancial expe s like Damoda an(2012),
a e indispensable o co po a e alua ion and inancial analysis,
hey also exempli y he b oade end o educing complex social
and o ganisa ional alues o mone a y e ms. This app oach,
while igo ous, o en o e looks he mul i ace ed na u e o alue
in mode n socie y, whe e non- economic alues such as social
TABLE 4 | E hical conside a ions in he con ex o unc ional di e en ia ion (own able).
POL ECO SCI ART REL LAW HEA SPO EDU MME
+ 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1
−0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
10991743a, 2025, 2, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/s es.3135, Wiley Online Lib a y on [27/03/2025]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License
560 Sys ems Resea ch and Beha io al Science, 2025
esponsibili y, en i onmen al impac and cul u al signi icance
play c ucial oles. Howe e , a socie y in which e e y aspec o
social li e is assessed solely on i s ca bon oo p in —e en o he
ex en o in luencing decisions abou b inging new li e in o he
wo ld—is no mo e inhe en ly be e han a socie y uled by i-
nancial indica o s o eligious doc ines.
Reckwi z (2020) highligh s his ension in his discussion o
he ‘socie y o singula i ies’, whe e con empo a y cul u e in-
c easingly alues uniqueness and dis inc ion. This socie al
shi owa ds singula isa ion poses a di ec challenge o he
homogenising endencies o sys ems like he SCS and o he al-
go i hmic go e nance amewo ks. Luhmann's (1995) heo y
o unc ional di e en ia ion u he con ex ualises his chal-
lenge by illus a ing how mode n socie ies manage complexi y
h ough au onomous sys ems ha commensu a e alues ac-
co ding o hei in e nal logics. Howe e , Reckwi z's ocus on
singula isa ion sugges s ha he cu en cul u al emphasis on
uniqueness esis s such sys emic educ ions, unde sco ing he
impo ance o main aining a plu ali y o alues. Taking alue
plu ali y se iously, he e o e, equi es conside a ion o whe he
ou u u e lies in a socie y o o ganisa ions—each pu suing hei
economic, poli ical, legal, a is ic, eligious o o he social mis-
sions wi h he co esponding s a egies o commensu a ion—o
in an o ganised socie y domina ed by one su icien ly uni e -
sal me ic o s anda d o commensu a ion, de ined by a p ies ly
cas e, a Poli bu o, a club o global heale s o a sub ield o he
na u al sciences.
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