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Simulation of an Organization as a Complex System: Agent-Based Modeling and a Gaming Experiment for Evolutionary Knowledge Management

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Simulation and Gaming in the Network Society

Part of the book series: Translational Systems Sciences ((TSS,volume 9))

Abstract

An agent-based model is employed to simulate an organization as a complex adaptive system which reveals how organization creates value through evolutionary knowledge management by autonomous agents from the bottom up. One of the surprising findings indicates that organizational performance is non-monotonically improved by either knowledge creation or diffusion. Meanwhile, a gaming experiment is conducted to verify the model and collect empirical evidence for model enhancement. Various causal relations among agents’ behavior, the turbulence of environment, the emergent social structure, and the organizational performance are elucidated. This study demonstrates the integration of multi-agent simulation and human experiment as a novel, robust, and scientific approach on tackling complexity and uncertainty involved in the field of knowledge management.

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Acknowledgment

The research work was funded by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (#15J07801) of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan. The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the great support.

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Correspondence to Jessica Gu .

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Gu, J., Wang, H., Xu, F., Chen, Y. (2016). Simulation of an Organization as a Complex System: Agent-Based Modeling and a Gaming Experiment for Evolutionary Knowledge Management. In: Kaneda, T., Kanegae, H., Toyoda, Y., Rizzi, P. (eds) Simulation and Gaming in the Network Society. Translational Systems Sciences, vol 9. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0575-6_30

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