This paper investigates the strategic use of flexible manufacturing technology as an entry-deterring mechanism. It is shown that, when consumers' tastes fluctuate probabilistically , an incumbent threatened with potential entry installs flexible manufacturing technology for a larger set of...

A computational model of a retail chain is developed in which store managers continually search for better practices through innovation. The search is carried out over a rugged landscape defined over the space of store practices with profit being determined by the interaction of a store's...

We explore the evolution of the structure and performance of a social network in a population of individuals who search for local optima in diverse and dynamic task environments. Individuals choose whether to innovate or imitate and, in the latter case, from whom to learn. The probabilities of...

In Chang and Harrington (2000a) a computational model of a multi-unit firm is developed in which unit managers continually search for better practices Search takes place over a rugged landscape defined over the space of unit practices There it is shown that a more centralized organization is...

In a multi-unit firm such as a retail chain or a multi-plant manufacturer we compare the business strategies developed by unit managers with the strategies that maximize corporate profit The setting is one in which units face different markets and where learning spillovers between two units are...

The dynamic choice between individual and social learning is explored for a population of autonomous agents whose objective is to find solutions to a stream of related problems. The probability that an agent is in the individual learning mode, as opposed to the social learning mode, evolves over...