The agency role of simulation models in model-building groups

Maria Kapsali, Steffen Bayer, Sally Brailsford and Timothy Bolt

Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2022, vol. 73, issue 7, 1423-1443

Abstract: Simulation models, in particular System Dynamics (SD) models, can be used in a group modelling setting to communicate, integrate, learn, collaborate, organize knowledge and derive new insights. Such models can play the roles of conceptual integrators, representations, learning or predictive tools. In this ethnographic study of two in-depth SD group modelling projects we discovered that SD models can be active agents in the group-model building process by initiating cognitive transition on participants’ (model and case based) modes of reasoning. We found that the cognitive transition was achieved through a series of surprises or shocks that refuted participants’ prior conceptions and forced them to switch between case-based and model-based reasoning during the model-building process. Based on these insights, we present a framework that describes how simulation models change the mode of reasoning in group modelling project and explains the model’s agency role. The study addresses the calls from earlier OR articles to contribute with more case studies using an ethnographic method looking into simulation artefact agency.

Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01605682.2021.1929527 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:tjorxx:v:73:y:2022:i:7:p:1423-1443

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/tjor20

DOI: 10.1080/01605682.2021.1929527

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of the Operational Research Society is currently edited by Tom Archibald

More articles in Journal of the Operational Research Society from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().