Davide Secchi – författare

Cognition is usually associated with brain activity. Undoubtedly, some brain activity is necessary for it to function. However, the last thirty years have revolutionized the way we intend and think about cognition. These developments allow us to think of cognition as distributed in the sense that it needs tools, artifacts, objects, and other external entities to allow the brain to operate properly. Organizational Cognition: The Theory of Social Organizing takes this perspective and applies it to the organization by introducing a model that defines the elements that allow cognition to work. This model shows that cognition needs the combined and simultaneous presence of micro aspects—i.e. the biological individual—and macro super-structural elements—e.g. organizational climate, culture, norms, values, rules. These two become practice of cognition as they materialize in a meso domain—this is any action that allows individuals to perform their daily duties. Due to the micro-meso-macro interactions, this has been called the 3M Model. Most of what happens in the meso domain relates to exchanges between two or more people, i.e. it is a social activity. This is usually mentioned in the perspectives above, but it is rarely explored.

By bringing meso activities to the center of cognition, the book develops and presents the Theory of Social Organizing. Not only this is useful to organizational scholars, but it also opens a new path for cognition research.

Cognition is usually associated with brain activity. Undoubtedly, some brain activity is necessary for it to function. However, the last thirty years have revolutionized the way we intend and think about cognition. These developments allow us to think of cognition as distributed in the sense that it needs tools, artifacts, objects, and other external entities to allow the brain to operate properly. Organizational Cognition: The Theory of Social Organizing takes this perspective and applies it to the organization by introducing a model that defines the elements that allow cognition to work. This model shows that cognition needs the combined and simultaneous presence of micro aspects—i.e. the biological individual—and macro super-structural elements—e.g. organizational climate, culture, norms, values, rules. These two become practice of cognition as they materialize in a meso domain—this is any action that allows individuals to perform their daily duties. Due to the micro-meso-macro interactions, this has been called the 3M Model. Most of what happens in the meso domain relates to exchanges between two or more people, i.e. it is a social activity. This is usually mentioned in the perspectives above, but it is rarely explored.

By bringing meso activities to the center of cognition, the book develops and presents the Theory of Social Organizing. Not only this is useful to organizational scholars, but it also opens a new path for cognition research.

In Computational Organizational Cognition, Davide Secchi presents an innovative definition of organizational cognition using a research tradition that builds on the Embodied/Distributed/Extended Cognition (EDEC) perspectives and it is developed through agent-based computational simulation modelling.

After an overview of EDEC perspectives, Computational Organizational Cognition presents four simulations which allow readers to clearly assess the advantages of agent-based computational organizational cognition (AOC) for both theory and practice. The book attempts to demonstrate how AOC is a useful if not essential instrument to explore, understand and analyze the inner complexities of organizational cognition. AOC is a powerful tool and an approach for organizational research enquiry at the service of both organizational scholars and cognitive scientists.

Davide Secchi begins by explaining what ABM has to offer as opposed to other techniques, emphasising its suitability to the study of complex social systems. While dissecting the core components of the approach, he introduces key elements and mechanisms with a practice oriented approach rather than insisting solely on logic and theory. With an emphasis on applications and using examples from NetLogo — one of the most widely used agent-based software platforms — the book guides the reader through a step-by-step process on how to develop a computational simulation.

Featuring a hands-on applied approach that makes a difficult topic easy for non-modellers, How Do I Develop an Agent-Based Model? will be a key resource for business and management Masters-level students embarking on a dissertation project. It will also be a useful reference for PhD students in the field, as well as a starting point for academics who would like to begin using ABM in their research.

The aim of this book is to demonstrate how Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) can be used to enhance the study of social agency, organizational behavior and organizational management. It derives from a workshop, sponsored by the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behavior (AISB), held at Bournemouth University Business School in 2014 on “Modelling Organizational Behavior and Social Agency”. The contents of this book are divided into four themes: Perspectives, Modeling Organizational Behavior, Philosophical and Methodological Perspective, and Modeling Organized Crime and Macro-Organizational Phenomena.

ABM is a particular and advanced type of computer simulation where the focus of modeling shifts to the agent rather than to the system. This allows for complex and more realistic representations of reality, facilitating an innovative socio-cognitive perspective on organizational studies. The editors and contributing authors claim that the use of ABM may dramatically expand our understanding of human behavior in organizations. This is made possible because of (a) the computational power made available by technological advancements, (b) the relative ease of the programming, (c) the ability to borrow simulation practices from other disciplines, and (d) the ability to demonstrate how the ABM approach clearly enables a socio-cognitive perspective on organizational complexity.

Showcasing contributions from academics and researchers of various backgrounds and discipline, this volumes provides a global, interdisciplinary perspective.