Soft Operational Research (Soft OR) emerged as a distinctive approach emphasising stakeholder engagement to address complex, ill-defined problems, departing from traditional OR methods. This review explores the nature and potential of Soft OR over the past fifty years, focusing specifically on articles published in the European Journal of Operational Research (EJOR) to clarify some foundational principles and trace its evolution. The review highlights essential aspects such as stakeholder agency, engagement as both representing (the role of modelling) and intervening (workshop facilitation), and the socio-technical aspect crucial for effective problem-solving. Fifty years on, debates about Soft OR’s legitimacy and its critical role in contemporary issues, including climate change and technological disruption, remain highly relevant. Future directions suggest further developing theories of engagement and integrating technological advancements, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), to ensure that Soft OR continues to be relevant and impactful in addressing exceedingly complex societal challenges in the twenty-first century.

中文翻译：

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软运筹学 50 年：EURO 和 EJOR 对其建立和发展的贡献

软运筹学 （Soft OR） 作为一种独特的方法出现，强调利益相关者参与解决复杂、定义不清的问题，这与传统的手术室方法不同。这篇综述探讨了过去 50 年软手术室的性质和潜力，特别关注发表在《欧洲运筹学杂志》（EJOR） 上的文章，以阐明一些基本原则并追溯其演变。该审查强调了利益相关者能动性、参与（建模的作用）和干预（研讨会促进）等重要方面，以及对有效解决问题至关重要的社会技术方面。50 年过去了，关于 Soft OR 的合法性及其在当代问题（包括气候变化和技术颠覆）中的关键作用的辩论仍然具有高度相关性。未来的方向建议进一步发展参与理论和整合技术进步，特别是人工智能 （AI），以确保 Soft OR 在应对 21 世纪极其复杂的社会挑战方面继续具有相关性和影响力。