In this paper, we provide a detailed insight into the complex coevolution dynamics that shape the alignment process by analyzing how different mechanisms and factors are mutually related in complex networks of feedback loops. We combine insights from the literature on alignment as a (coevolution) process with literature on alignment as a state to identify the different components of the organization’s socio-technical system that influence alignment, the relationships between these components, and the role that different factors play. In our empirical analysis (based multiple case studies) we then focus on the actual interplay between relevant factors. Using a causal loop diagramming approach - based on system dynamics – we analyze how these factors mutually influence each other through various feedback loops and thus shape the alignment process. We extend previous literature on the alignment process by identifying the way that the complex interplay between different factors shapes this process. By identifying the feedback loops between relevant factors, we also provide more insight into the complex bottom-up and top-down dynamics that shape the process, and that provide explanations for why this process is characterized by transitions between alignment and misalignment. For practice, our paper provides a deeper understanding of the alignment process, which is a precondition for improving alignment practices in organisations.

在本文中，我们通过分析不同的机制和因素在复杂的反馈回路网络中如何相互关联，对塑造对齐过程的复杂协同进化动力学提供了详细的见解。 我们将对齐作为（共同进化）过程的文献中的见解与对齐作为状态的文献相结合 确定影响一致性的组织社会技术系统的不同组成部分、这些组成部分之间的关​​系以及不同因素所扮演的角色。在我们的实证分析（基于多个案例研究）中，我们关注相关因素之间的实际相互作用。使用基于系统动力学的因果循环图方法，我们分析了这些因素如何通过各种反馈循环相互影响，从而形成对齐过程。我们通过确定不同因素之间复杂的相互作用塑造这一过程的方式，扩展了以前关于对齐过程的文献。 通过确定相关因素之间的反馈循环，我们还可以更深入地了解塑造过程的复杂的自下而上和自上而下的动态，并解释为什么这个过程的特点是对齐和不对齐之间的转换。对于实践，我们的论文提供了对对齐过程的更深入理解，这是改进组织对齐实践的先决条件。