Grk. 'self-making'; "network of production processes in which the function of each component is to participate in the production and transformation of other components."
The way a living system continually renews itself by redefining the boundary between itself and its environment. From the Greek term for "self-production." Another way of putting this is that an organization's identity is defined by its relationship with the outside world. For example, a business might realize that it needs to grow in a certain direction in order to remain viable. From Chilean biologists Maturana and Varela.
self-perpetuation through metabolization, involving consumption of energy and discard of waste (from Greek self [auto] and making [poiein, as in "poetry"]), active maintenance against natural degradation
Self-production or self-maintenance. The ability to maintain a bounded form despite a flow of material occurring. A non-equilibrium system, typically life or similar processes but in a wider sense also including natural phenomena like Jupiter's Red Spot. See also sympoietic.
The ability to be self-renewing without the need of outside interventions. Refers to a characteristic of living systems enabling them to continually renew themselves and to regulate the process in such a way that the integrity of their structure is maintained.
Autopoiesis literally means "auto (self)-creation" (from the Greek: auto - αυτό for self- and poiesis - ποίησις for creation or production) and expresses a fundamental complementarity between structure and function.