Systems Research and Behavioral Science articles from July 2008

Systems Research and Behavioral Science archives from July 2008

Theory building with system dynamics: topic and research contributions.(Guest Editorial)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION The focus of this special edition is on the System Dynamics approach (Forrester, 1961, 1968) and its use of models to create theories. Perhaps the defining feature of system dynamics--certainly one of its most distinctive...

System dynamics as model-based theory building.(Research Paper)(Report)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION This contribution aims to explore the issue of theory building with reference to system dynamics (SD) modelling. Our specific goal is to introduce the concept of model-based theory building and demonstrate its great potential...

System dynamics modelling as an inductive and deductive endeavour comment on the paper by Schwaninger and Grosser.(Discussant's Comment)(Adrian Schwaninger and)(Critical essay)
July 1, 2008... Schwaninger and Grosser's paper 'System Dynamics as Model-Based Theory-Building' (2008, this issue) argues that the system dynamics modelling process is a way to build theories. By model building, deeper insights into a system are gained and...

Closing the loop: promoting synergies with other theory building approaches to improve system dynamics practice.(Research Paper)(Report)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION The purpose of a system dynamics model is to gain understanding about some problematic behaviour in order to design policies or strategies for improving system performance over time (Richardson and Pugh, 1981; Sterman, 2000)....

Closing and enriching the loop comment on the paper by Kopainsky and Luna-Reyes.(Discussant's Comments)(Critical essay)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION The paper by Kopainski and Luna-Reyes presents a proposal about 'Promoting Synergies with other Theory Building Approaches to improve System Dynamics Practice' (Kopainski and Luna-Reyes, 2008). The approaches considered in it...

On improving dynamic decision-making: implications from multiple-process cognitive theory.(Research Paper)(Report)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION Understanding and improving decision-making in complex environments is a recurring theme in economics and psychology. Dane and Pratt in a review with 137 references (2007) shows that decision-making expertise typically...

What if the multiple-process cognitive model is misleading for the question at hand? Comment on the paper by Bakken.(Discussant's Comment)(Critical essay)
July 1, 2008... Bakken's paper is of great relevance for many managers that have to face changing environments and need to adapt their behaviour accordingly. Also for the design of education programmes that aim at helping people to grapple with dynamic...

Structural dominance analysis and theory building in system dynamics.(Research Paper)(Report)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION In recent years, there has been a growing interest among system dynamics researchers in developing methods for formal quantitative tools to help modellers understand the relationship between observed model behaviour and the...

Formal theory building for the avalanche game: explaining counter-intuitive behaviour of a complex system using geometrical and human behavioural/physiological effects.(Research Paper)(Report)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION This paper concerns the 'Avalanche' game (Booth-Sweeney and Meadows, 1995). What happens when groups play Avalanche is the phenomenon at the heart of this paper. In this section the game is first outlined. Then explanations...

How do system dynamics models explain? A critical rationalist comment on the paper by Lane.(Discussant's Comments)(Critical essay)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION In his paper Lane (2008) outlines a formal, explicit and testable theory for the widely known and played Avalanche game, which explains the counter-intuitive behaviour that can be observed under certain circumstances using...

Common learning and opportunistic behaviour in learning alliances.(Research Paper)(Report)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION Alliances have become an important strategic option for firms to achieve competitive advantage. On average, a company has between 50 (Deering and Murphy, 2003) and 60 alliances (Dyer et al., 2001). In 2004, alliances were...

Exploring the relationships between tangible and intangible resources in a learning alliance dynamics: comment on the paper by Kapmeier.(Discussant's Comment)(Critical essay)
July 1, 2008... INTRODUCTION Kapmeier (2008) focuses his research on common learning and firms' opportunistic behaviour in learning alliances. A strategic alliance, as clearly stated by Gulati (1998, p. 293) is a voluntary arrangement between firms to...

Afterword.(Research Note)
July 1, 2008... Theory building is a high ranking, perhaps even the ultimate objective of any scientific field or discipline, and it certainly is an ambitious topic for a workshop in System Dynamics. However, with the choice of such a rigorous topic the...