Sharif University of Technology (Sharif Policy Research Institute) Science and Technology Policy Letters 2476-7220 Articles in Press 2026 06 06 Designing an Enabling Climate Development Model in Cyber, Physical and Social Systems: A Meta-Synthesis Approach to Grounded Theory Designing an Enabling Climate Development Model in Cyber, Physical and Social Systems: A Meta-Synthesis Approach to Grounded Theory 24227 FA Maasoumeh Mohtaram faculty of members , Shiraz University 0000-0002-6209-9849 Parisa Yazdandoust shiraz university 0009-0004-7917-2135 Journal Article 2025 12 23 Organizations, in light of rapid technological advancements and the expansion of Industry 4.0, have increasingly evolved from purely social systems into complex cyber-physical-social systems. This transformation underscores the necessity of developing an enabling climate to align technological architectures with public interests, transparency, fairness, and ethical considerations. Despite the significance of this issue, existing literature lacks a comprehensive and systematic model that explains the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of an enabling climate in such systems. The purpose of this study is to design a model for developing an enabling climate in organizational cyber-physical-social systems. This research adopts a qualitative, theory-building meta-synthesis approach based on the seven-stage Finfgeld–Connett model. Following a systematic search and screening process, 29 qualitative and mixed-method studies published between 2014 and 2025 were analyzed. The findings indicate that the antecedents of an enabling climate fall into five main domains: human resource characteristics, managerial characteristics, cyber infrastructure, physical infrastructure, and social infrastructure. These antecedents operate through cognitive, ethical, and learning processes such as distributed sensemaking and ethical reflection loops, leading to organizational, social, economic, and political outcomes. Employing a system-of-systems perspective, the final model clarifies the causal relationships among these components and provides a practical framework for managing socio-technical complexity and enhancing human oversight in the age of artificial intelligence. Organizations, in light of rapid technological advancements and the expansion of Industry 4.0, have increasingly evolved from purely social systems into complex cyber-physical-social systems. This transformation underscores the necessity of developing an enabling climate to align technological architectures with public interests, transparency, fairness, and ethical considerations. Despite the significance of this issue, existing literature lacks a comprehensive and systematic model that explains the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of an enabling climate in such systems. The purpose of this study is to design a model for developing an enabling climate in organizational cyber-physical-social systems. This research adopts a qualitative, theory-building meta-synthesis approach based on the seven-stage Finfgeld–Connett model. Following a systematic search and screening process, 29 qualitative and mixed-method studies published between 2014 and 2025 were analyzed. The findings indicate that the antecedents of an enabling climate fall into five main domains: human resource characteristics, managerial characteristics, cyber infrastructure, physical infrastructure, and social infrastructure. These antecedents operate through cognitive, ethical, and learning processes such as distributed sensemaking and ethical reflection loops, leading to organizational, social, economic, and political outcomes. Employing a system-of-systems perspective, the final model clarifies the causal relationships among these components and provides a practical framework for managing socio-technical complexity and enhancing human oversight in the age of artificial intelligence.