Computational Laboratories for Organization Science: Questions, Validity and Docking

  • Authors:

  • Richard M. Burton

  • Affiliations:

  • The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 1 Towerview, Durham, NC 27708-6245, USA. rmb2@mail.duke.edu

  • Venue:
  • Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory
  • Year:
  • 2003

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Abstract

A computational laboratory is a “place” where we can: ask a question about an organization and its processes, build a computational experiment, design and conduct an experiment, and answer or comment on the question. The questions can be: what is, what might be, and what should be.Validation is a fundamental concern in science; the validity of a laboratory and model depends upon the question being addressed. A laboratory for a descriptive what is question may not be valid for a what should be design question.Docking—the alignment of two models—goes beyond validity. Docking juxtaposes two models to investigate whether they proceed in like manner or yield similar results. I argue that docking provides a guide in the use of different laboratories to address organization questions; and, further computational and non computational models can be docked to deepen and broaden our understanding of organization science.