Dynamics of Organizations: Computational Modeling and Organization Theories
Edited by Alessandro Lomi and Erik R. Larsen
525 pp., references, index, illus., $42.00 softcover,
ISBN 978-0-262-62152-6
[Add to Cart] [View Cart]
An organization is more than the sum of its parts, and the individual components that function as a complex social system can be understood only by analyzing their collective behavior. This book shows how state-of-the-art simulation methods, including genetic algorithms, neural networks, and cellular automata, can be brought to bear on central problems of organizational theory related to the emergence, permanence, and dissolution of hierarchical macrostructures. The emphasis is on the application of a new generation of equation- and agent-based computational models that can help students of organizations to reformulate their basic research questions starting from assumptions about how to link — rather than separate — different levels of organizational analysis.
Alessandro Lomi is a professor of organizational theory and behavior at the School of Economics, University of Bologna.
Erik R. Larsen is a professor of management at City University Business School, London.
Contributors
David Barron, Matthew S. Bothner, Richard M. Burton, Kathleen M. Carley, Glenn Carroll, Michael T. Hannan, Richard Harrison, Vanessa Hill, Bernardo A. Huberman, David M. Krackhardt, Erik R. Larsen, Daniel Levinthal, Christoph H. Loch, Alessandro Lomi, Michael Macy, Franco Malerba, James G. March, John H. Miller, Richard Nelson, Luigi Orsenigo, Laszlo Pólos, Michael J. Prietula, Anjali Sastry, David Strang, Sezer Ülkü, Harrison C. White, Sidney G. Winter.