Toward a General Theory of Structural Pivots: A Category-Theoretic Axiomatic Model

This paper proposes a transdisciplinary theoretical framework for structural pivots across narrative systems, organizations, strategic planning, product development, and public policy. The model formalizes structural transformation through three interconnected concepts: Potential (Existence), Validation (Authorization), and Convergence (Orderly Completion). System states are represented as categorical objects, while structural transitions are modeled as morphisms. A pivot is considered admissible only when an intrinsic morphism exists through latent structural assets and satisfies validation criteria including legitimacy, predictability, consistency, and necessity. The framework further derives a practical heuristic, termed the Collaboration Proxy, suggesting that the range of structurally admissible pivots is closely approximated by the range of cross-domain collaborations that can be imagined without generating substantial cognitive dissonance. Rather than providing empirical recipes for success, the theory functions as an exclusion-based framework designed to identify structurally inadmissible transformations before implementation.