From Systemic Insights to Sustainable Business Actions—A case study on GenZ parents in the DACH market

This research uses systemic design to develop interventions for sustainable change in a business context. The primary objective is to address the communication and translation of systemic insights into practical business actions. Bridging the gap between research and practice is a major challenge in effectively communicating systemic insights and guiding actionable decision-making. Therefore, the research question guiding this study is: “How can systemic insights be effectively translated into feasible actions for businesses?” To address this question, a combination of established methods was applied in the business case study of sustainable parenthood.

The systemic analysis involved defining system boundaries, gathering data through desk research and interviews with business stakeholders, and creating a causal loop diagram. Further, Donella Meadows’ theory was applied to identify leverage points for behavioural change strategies. To make the complexity of the system map and its leverage points comprehensible for stakeholders, it was translated into a story map and subsequently into insight cards. In-depth validation and analysis of the systemic insights were done through qualitative user interviews (n=10).

The main contribution of this paper is the use of insight cards, which offer a tangible and accessible format for conveying systemic insights. The cards allow the communication of complex systemic language and bridge research and practice. However, while insight cards were a valuable tool for the development of concrete solutions, further strategic considerations are needed. Thus, the study highlights the need for further research in effective communication strategies and systemic language to facilitate the translation of systemic insights into tangible business actions.