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Review of Managerial Science

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06-03-2021 | Original Paper

Using agent-based modeling in routine dynamics research: a quantitative and content analysis of literature

Authors: Dehua Gao, Aliakbar Akbaritabar

Published in: Review of Managerial Science | Issue 2/2022

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Abstract

This paper presents an overview of all scientific contributions using agent-based modeling (ABM) methodology in routine dynamics research. That is a specialized area of study and our extensive literature search revealed only a total of 12 contributions. We did a quantitative analysis of these published literature using co-authorship, cross-citation and bibliographic coupling methods. We then complemented the overview with a content analysis of substantial focus of these literatures. We summarized their findings and showed how ABM is applied in routine dynamics research. By elaborating on what has been done, we provide an overview of this newly emerging research field and present possible directions for future work. Even though there are only a few publications in this research field, we expect that dialogue between ABM modelers and routine scholars would be beneficial to promote the development in this area. It would be conducive to advancing the understanding of complex internal structure, processes and dynamics of organizational routines.

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More detailed information about B. T. Pentland and his colleagues’ research on agent-based modeling of organizational routines can be found at: http://routines.broad.msu.edu/ (last accessed on May 30, 2020).

It is worth noting that the model by Pentland, et al. (2012) is not strictly an agent-based model—as Kahl and Meyer (2016) pointed out that ‘one cannot speak of heterogeneous agents in this model as actions represent its basic entities’ (Kahl and Meyer, 2016, p. 92). Nevertheless, it was included in our analysis because it concerns ‘actions’ in organizational routines and simulates the formation of routines with a ‘bottom-up’ approach.

https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=jiebaR, (last accessed on June 5, 2020).

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Title: Using agent-based modeling in routine dynamics research: a quantitative and content analysis of literature
Authors: Dehua Gao
Aliakbar Akbaritabar
Publication date: 06-03-2021
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Review of Managerial Science / Issue 2/2022
Print ISSN: 1863-6683
Electronic ISSN: 1863-6691
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-021-00446-z

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