IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v18y2007i4p648-666.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innovators, Imitators, and the Evolving Architecture of Problem-Solving Networks

Author

Listed:
  • Myong-Hun Chang

    (Department of Economics, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio 44115)

  • Joseph E. Harrington

    (Department of Economics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218)

Abstract

Scientific progress is driven by innovation---which serves to produce a diversity of ideas---and imitation through a social network---which serves to diffuse these ideas. In this paper, we develop an agent-based computational model of this process, in which the agents in the population are heterogeneous in their abilities to innovate and imitate. The model incorporates three primary forces: the discovery of new ideas, the observation and adoption of these ideas, and the endogenous development of networks. The objective is to explore the evolving architecture of problem-solving networks and the critical roles that different agents play in the process. A central finding is that the emergent network takes a chain structure with innovators (those most skilled at generating new ideas) being the main source of ideas and those most skilled at imitating acting as connectors between the innovators and the masses. The impact of agent heterogeneity and environmental volatility on the network architecture is also characterized.

Suggested Citation

  • Myong-Hun Chang & Joseph E. Harrington, 2007. "Innovators, Imitators, and the Evolving Architecture of Problem-Solving Networks," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(4), pages 648-666, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:18:y:2007:i:4:p:648-666
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1060.0245
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1060.0245
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1060.0245?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    2. Demange,Gabrielle & Wooders,Myrna (ed.), 2005. "Group Formation in Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521842716.
    3. Chang, Myong-Hun & Harrington, Joseph Jr., 2006. "Agent-Based Models of Organizations," Handbook of Computational Economics, in: Leigh Tesfatsion & Kenneth L. Judd (ed.), Handbook of Computational Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 26, pages 1273-1337, Elsevier.
    4. Nicolaj Siggelkow & Jan W. Rivkin, 2005. "Speed and Search: Designing Organizations for Turbulence and Complexity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(2), pages 101-122, April.
    5. Blundell,Richard & Newey,Whitney K. & Persson,Torsten (ed.), 2006. "Advances in Economics and Econometrics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521871525.
    6. Gabrielle Demange & Wooders Myrna, 2005. "Group Formation in Economics: Networks, Clubs and Coalitions," Post-Print halshs-00576778, HAL.
    7. Tesfatsion, Leigh & Judd, Kenneth L., 2006. "Handbook of Computational Economics, Vol. 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics," Staff General Research Papers Archive 10368, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    8. Colin Camerer & Teck-Hua Ho, 1999. "Experience-weighted Attraction Learning in Normal Form Games," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(4), pages 827-874, July.
    9. Myong-Hun Chang, "undated". "Discovery and Diffusion of Knowledge in an Endogenous Social Network," Modeling, Computing, and Mastering Complexity 2003 01, Society for Computational Economics.
    10. Stephen P. Borgatti & Rob Cross, 2003. "A Relational View of Information Seeking and Learning in Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(4), pages 432-445, April.
    11. Leigh Tesfatsion & Kenneth L. Judd (ed.), 2006. "Handbook of Computational Economics," Handbook of Computational Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 2, number 2.
    12. Richard M. Burton, 2003. "Computational Laboratories for Organization Science: Questions, Validity and Docking," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 91-108, July.
    13. Martine R. Haas, 2006. "Acquiring and Applying Knowledge in Transnational Teams: The Roles of Cosmopolitans and Locals," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 367-384, June.
    14. Blundell,Richard & Newey,Whitney K. & Persson,Torsten (ed.), 2006. "Advances in Economics and Econometrics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521692083.
    15. Nicolaj Siggelkow & Daniel A. Levinthal, 2003. "Temporarily Divide to Conquer: Centralized, Decentralized, and Reintegrated Organizational Approaches to Exploration and Adaptation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(6), pages 650-669, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Per L. Bylund, 2015. "Signifying Williamson's Contribution to the Transaction Cost Approach: An Agent-Based Simulation of Coasean Transaction Costs and Specialization," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 148-174, January.
    2. Goldbaum, David, 2021. "The origins of influence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 380-396.
    3. David Goldbaum, 2016. "Networks formation to assist decision making," Working Paper Series 37, Economics Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Friederike Wall, 2016. "Agent-based modeling in managerial science: an illustrative survey and study," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 135-193, January.
    2. Stephan Leitner & Friederike Wall, 2015. "Simulation-based research in management accounting and control: an illustrative overview," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 105-129, August.
    3. Friederike Wall, 2019. "Emergence of Coordination in Growing Decision-Making Organizations: The Role of Complexity, Search Strategy, and Cost of Effort," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2019, pages 1-26, December.
    4. Oliver Baumann, 2015. "Models of complex adaptive systems in strategy and organization research," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 14(2), pages 169-183, November.
    5. Linda Argote & Sunkee Lee & Jisoo Park, 2021. "Organizational Learning Processes and Outcomes: Major Findings and Future Research Directions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5399-5429, September.
    6. Narine Udumyan & Juliette Rouchier & Dominique Ami, 2014. "Integration of Path-Dependency in a Simple Learning Model: The Case of Marine Resources," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 43(2), pages 199-231, February.
    7. Friederike Wall, 2015. "Beneficial Effects Of Randomized Organizational Change On Performance," Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(05n06), pages 1-23, August.
    8. A Bhattacharya, "undated". "Stable and Efficient Networks with Farsighted Players: the Largest Consistent Set," Discussion Papers 09/34, Department of Economics, University of York.
    9. Lucio Biggiero & Enrico Sevi, 2009. "Opportunism by cheating and its effects on industry profitability. The CIOPS model," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 191-236, September.
    10. Hellmann, Tim & Landwehr, Jakob, 2014. "Stable Networks in Homogeneous Societies," Center for Mathematical Economics Working Papers 517, Center for Mathematical Economics, Bielefeld University.
    11. Daniel Ladley & James Rockey, 2010. "Party Formation and Competition," Discussion Papers in Economics 10/17, Division of Economics, School of Business, University of Leicester, revised Mar 2014.
    12. Richard M. Burton & Børge Obel, 2011. "Computational Modeling for What-Is, What-Might-Be, and What-Should-Be Studies---And Triangulation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1195-1202, October.
    13. Umberto Monarca & Ernesto Cassetta & Michele Lo Re & Linda Meleo, 2019. "A Network Analysis of the Intersectoral Linkages Between Manufacturing and Other Industries in China and Italy," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 11(1-2), pages 80-97, January.
    14. Paul L. Borrill & Leigh Tesfatsion, 2011. "Agent-based Modeling: The Right Mathematics for the Social Sciences?," Chapters, in: John B. Davis & D. Wade Hands (ed.), The Elgar Companion to Recent Economic Methodology, chapter 11, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Juan Manuel Larrosa, 2016. "Agentes computacionales y análisis económico," Revista de Economía Institucional, Universidad Externado de Colombia - Facultad de Economía, vol. 18(34), pages 87-113, January-J.
    16. Pascal Seppecher & Isabelle Salle & Dany Lang, 2019. "Is the market really a good teacher?," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 299-335, March.
    17. Anufriev, Mikhail & Panchenko, Valentyn, 2009. "Asset prices, traders' behavior and market design," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 1073-1090, May.
    18. Mikhail Anufriev & Jasmina Arifovic & John Ledyard & Valentyn Panchenko, 2013. "Efficiency of continuous double auctions under individual evolutionary learning with full or limited information," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 539-573, July.
    19. Christina Fang & Jeho Lee & Melissa A. Schilling, 2010. "Balancing Exploration and Exploitation Through Structural Design: The Isolation of Subgroups and Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(3), pages 625-642, June.
    20. Dirk Martignoni & Thomas Keil & Markus Lang, 2020. "Focus in Searching Core–Periphery Structures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(2), pages 266-286, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:18:y:2007:i:4:p:648-666. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.