Antecedents of cultural agency theory: in the footsteps of Schwarz living systems

Cultural agency theory (CAT) generates higher simplex through principles of recursion, and, in this way, it is able to create a potential for the generation of families of new paradigms in different fields. Characterised by its interdisciplinary nature, CAT’s origins have a heterogeneous nature related to different disciplines and research fields. With this in mind, the present manuscript aims to shed light on the antecedents of CAT, especially emphasising the role of Schwarz’s studies as a feel rouge in the evolution of this theory.

Through a systematic review of the previous literature, this paper highlights the multidisciplinary nature of CAT, mapping the multifaceted framework of its antecedents.

The results are summarised in a conceptual map that does not constitute a point of arrival, but rather a starting point: consolidating the current state, this paper also provides new insights for further studies.

This manuscript still remains a theoretical point of view. Further studies are required to apply this study’s reasoning.

From a theoretical point of view, this paper achieves a new and original cornerstone about the previous studies on CAT; from a practical viewpoint, this paper gets an input for further implications. While these theories were originally setup for cognitive processes, this paper suggests extensions to model a complex adaptive system framework for management and marketing studies.