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Coordination and Search for New Solutions

An Agent-Based Study on the Tension in Boundary Systems

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Decision Economics: Complexity of Decisions and Decisions for Complexity (DECON 2019)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1009))

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Abstract

Boundary systems, setting constraints for managerial decision-makers, incorporate a tension between granting flexibility to decision-makers for finding new options as well as aligning managerial choices with respect to overall objectives. This study employs a computational approach to examine configurations of search strategy and coordination mechanisms in boundary systems for their effects on organizational performance. The results suggest that the complexity of the organizational decision-problem subtly shapes the effectiveness of the configurations – suggesting to employ search strategies providing flexibility to managerial decision-makers when complexity is low and to emphasize tight coordination and exploitative or ambidextrous strategies for higher levels of complexity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Confidence intervals at a 99.9 level of \(V_{t=250}\) show the following ranges: decomposable: \(\pm 0.002\) to \(\pm 0.004\) in decentralized and hierarchical coordination; near-decomposable: dec. \(\pm 0.004\) to \(\pm 0.005\); hierar. \(\pm 0.003\) to \(\pm 0.004\); non-decomposable intermediate: dec. \(\pm 0.005\) to \(\pm 0.01\); hierar. \(\pm 0.004\) to \(\pm 0.005\); non-decomposable high: dec. \(\pm 0.005\) to \(\pm 0.01\); hierar. \(\pm 0.004\) to \(\pm 0.005\).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alpen-Adria-Universitaet Klagenfurt, 9020, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Friederike Wall

Authors
  1. Friederike Wall
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Correspondence to Friederike Wall .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophical, Pedagogical and Economic-Quantitative Sciences, Section of Economics and Quantitative Methods, University of Chieti-Pescara, Pescara, Italy

    Edgardo Bucciarelli

  2. AI-ECON Research Center - Department of Economics, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Shu-Heng Chen

  3. Edificio Parque Científico Universidad de Valladolid, AIR Institute, Salamanca, Spain

    Juan Manuel Corchado

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Wall, F. (2020). Coordination and Search for New Solutions. In: Bucciarelli, E., Chen, SH., Corchado, J. (eds) Decision Economics: Complexity of Decisions and Decisions for Complexity. DECON 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1009. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38227-8_2

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