Coordinated Exploration: Organizing Joint Search by Multiple Specialists to Overcome Mutual Confusion and Joint Myopia.
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| Title: | Coordinated Exploration: Organizing Joint Search by Multiple Specialists to Overcome Mutual Confusion and Joint Myopia. |
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| Authors: | Knudsen, Thorbjørn1, Srikanth, Kannan2 |
| Source: | Administrative Science Quarterly. Sep2014, Vol. 59 Issue 3, p409-441. 33p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Organizational structure, *Interagency coordination, New product development, Teams in the workplace, Industrial organization (Economic theory), Industrial management research, Psychology |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we use an agent-based simulation model to investigate how coordinated exploration by multiple specialists, as in new product development, is different from individual search. We find that coordinated exploration is subject to two pathologies not present in unitary search: mutual confusion and joint myopia. In joint search, feedback to one agent’s actions is confounded by the actions of the other agent. Search therefore leads to increasing mutual confusion because agents are unable to learn from feedback to correct their faulty mental models of the search space. Incorrect beliefs held by one agent lead to mistakes, and because it is unclear which agent was wrong, this confuses the other agent, either into revising (correct) beliefs or holding on to (incorrect) beliefs. Sharing knowledge aligns specialists’ mental models and counters mutual confusion by inducing coordination around particular search regions. Yet that very effort increases joint myopia, as agents prematurely reinforce each other into choosing from an increasingly narrow portion of the search space. In the extreme, high levels of shared knowledge induce agents to abandon their distinct search approach in favor of a lower common denominator. In coordinated exploration, increasing coordination efforts (such as by increasing communication) reduces mutual confusion but simultaneously increases joint myopia. Efforts to reduce joint myopia, such as by slow learning or lower levels of knowledge transfer, however, automatically increase mutual confusion. As modeled in our simulation, successful joint search needs to balance these two effects. Our results suggest that because unitary-searcher models abstract from epistemic interdependence, their predictions are potentially misleading for coordinated exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
| Copyright of Administrative Science Quarterly is the property of Administrative Science Quarterly and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Coordinated Exploration: Organizing Joint Search by Multiple Specialists to Overcome Mutual Confusion and Joint Myopia. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Knudsen%2C+Thorbjørn%22">Knudsen, Thorbjørn</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Srikanth%2C+Kannan%22">Srikanth, Kannan</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Administrative+Science+Quarterly%22">Administrative Science Quarterly</searchLink>. Sep2014, Vol. 59 Issue 3, p409-441. 33p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Organizational+structure%22">Organizational structure</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interagency+coordination%22">Interagency coordination</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22New+product+development%22">New product development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teams+in+the+workplace%22">Teams in the workplace</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Industrial+organization+%28Economic+theory%29%22">Industrial organization (Economic theory)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Industrial+management+research%22">Industrial management research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology%22">Psychology</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: In this paper, we use an agent-based simulation model to investigate how coordinated exploration by multiple specialists, as in new product development, is different from individual search. We find that coordinated exploration is subject to two pathologies not present in unitary search: mutual confusion and joint myopia. In joint search, feedback to one agent’s actions is confounded by the actions of the other agent. Search therefore leads to increasing mutual confusion because agents are unable to learn from feedback to correct their faulty mental models of the search space. Incorrect beliefs held by one agent lead to mistakes, and because it is unclear which agent was wrong, this confuses the other agent, either into revising (correct) beliefs or holding on to (incorrect) beliefs. Sharing knowledge aligns specialists’ mental models and counters mutual confusion by inducing coordination around particular search regions. Yet that very effort increases joint myopia, as agents prematurely reinforce each other into choosing from an increasingly narrow portion of the search space. In the extreme, high levels of shared knowledge induce agents to abandon their distinct search approach in favor of a lower common denominator. In coordinated exploration, increasing coordination efforts (such as by increasing communication) reduces mutual confusion but simultaneously increases joint myopia. Efforts to reduce joint myopia, such as by slow learning or lower levels of knowledge transfer, however, automatically increase mutual confusion. As modeled in our simulation, successful joint search needs to balance these two effects. Our results suggest that because unitary-searcher models abstract from epistemic interdependence, their predictions are potentially misleading for coordinated exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Administrative Science Quarterly is the property of Administrative Science Quarterly and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1177/0001839214538021 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 33 StartPage: 409 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Organizational structure Type: general – SubjectFull: Interagency coordination Type: general – SubjectFull: New product development Type: general – SubjectFull: Teams in the workplace Type: general – SubjectFull: Industrial organization (Economic theory) Type: general – SubjectFull: Industrial management research Type: general – SubjectFull: Psychology Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Coordinated Exploration: Organizing Joint Search by Multiple Specialists to Overcome Mutual Confusion and Joint Myopia. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Knudsen, Thorbjørn – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Srikanth, Kannan IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 09 Text: Sep2014 Type: published Y: 2014 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00018392 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 59 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Administrative Science Quarterly Type: main |
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