دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی شبیه سازی مبتنی بر عامل در مطالعات مدیریت و سازمان: یک نظرسنجی - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive survey of the literature about the use of agent-based simulation (ABS) in the study of organizational behavior, decision making, and problem-solving. It aims at contributing to the consolidation of ABS as a field of applied research in management and organizational studies. Design/methodology/approach – The authors carried out a non-systematic search in literature published between 2000 and 2016, by using the keyword “agent-based” to search through Scopus’ business, management and accounting database. Additional search criteria were devised using the papers’ keywords and the categories defined by the divisions and interest groups of the Academy of Management. The authors found 181 articles for this survey. Findings – The survey shows that ABS provides a robust and rigorous framework to elaborate descriptions, explanations, predictions and theories about organizations and their processes as well as develop tools that support strategic and operational decision making and problem-solving. The authors show that the areas that report the highest number of applications are operations and logistics (37 percent), marketing (17 percent) and organizational behavior (14 percent). Originality/value – The paper illustrates the increasingly prominent role of ABS in fields such as organizational behavior, strategy, human resources, marketing and logistics. To-date, this is the most complete survey about ABS in all management areas.

5. Conclusions

In this paper we provided an overview of impact of ABOS with the intent to consolidate its standing as a field of research. ABOS proved to have a rich variety of practical and theoretical approaches to management and organizational studies (Secchi and Neumann, 2016; Wall, 2016; Fioretti, 2012; Chang, 2006).

There have been many independent efforts to build ABS frameworks and agent architectures focused on organizations (Moise or Thomas); create consultancy firms that make use of ABS (Icosystem, Concentric or ABM Analytics); develop simulation platforms (AnyLogic) and publish academic literature and patents that use this method. We believe the time is ripe to embark on an agenda-setting endeavor and promote an effective dialogue among scholars. We hope that this paper is a step in that direction.

ABOS gives way to a generative view of organizations and their processes. It supports high-level abstractions, aimed at explaining and formalizing organizational dynamics. Further, it gives managers and decision-makers detailed models that can be empirically calibrated to support decision making, prediction and optimization in strategic, tactical or operational scenarios.