From the 1982 publication of Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems, W. Richard Scott in 2004 reflected back on the history of organizational sociology.

Before open system ideas, organizational scholars had concentrated on actors (workers, work groups, managers) and processes (motivation, cohesion, control) within organizations. Scant attention was accorded to the environment within which the organization operated.

Scott, W. Richard. “Reflections on a half-century of organizational sociology.” Annu. Rev. Sociol. 30, no. 1 (2004): 1-21 at https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.soc.30.012703.110644