Amazon FC are playing in the Euros (the UEFA football championship). Or at least that’s what could be inferred from my name badge. In fact, Amazon FC is one of the Amazon fulfilment centres, located in the Polish town of Poznań, location of the 28th European conference on Operational Research. The fulfilment centre is huge – with a …
Author archives: Dr Duncan Robertson
The Complexity of the Corporation
In my paper, The Complexity of the Corporation, I introduce complexity science applied to management, discussing complex adaptive systems, emergence, co-evolution, and power laws. “We discuss the notion of complexity as applied to firms and corporations. We introduce the background to complex adaptive systems, and discuss whether this presents an appropriate model or metaphor to be used within …
Has Anyone Seen our Byelaws?
Unfortunately, our Byelaws have been lost. The Government can’t find them. They are not even on display: “But the plans were on display . . .” “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.” “That’s the display department.” “With a torch.” “Ah, well …
When does Brokerage Matter? Citation Impact of Research Teams in an Emerging Academic Field
This paper with François Collet of ESADE and Daniela Lup of the LSE analyzes the emergence of the strategic management filed showing the benefits of network brokerage are stronger during the early phase of development and diminish over time. Through exposure to heterogeneous sources of knowledge, actors who broker between unconnected contacts are more likely to generate valuable …
Topological Isomorphisms of Human Brain and Financial Market Networks
This paper, published with colleagues from Warwick University and Cambridge University: Petra Vertes, Ruth Nicol, Sandra Chapman, Nicholas Watkins, and Edward Bullmore was the result of inter-disciplinary work funded by the EPSRC – the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant number EP/H02395X/1). We investigated the similarities in the network structure financial markets and brain networks. Although metaphorical …
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The Exponential First
The first class honours degree is the ultimate prize for UK undergraduates. It is a symbol of being the best of the best. Undoubtedly, this is the case for some students. Yet the statistics for the number of first class honours degrees awarded by UK Higher Education Institutions (‘universities’ to most of us) shows, well, …
Cars and Colleges
Lovelace College has arrived in Oxford this morning. And lots of cars. Endeavour must be in town…
Agent-Based Modeling Toolkits: NetLogo, RePast, and Swarm
Agent-Based Modeling Toolkits: NetLogo, RePast, and Swarm (2005, Academy of Management Learning and Education 4(4), 525–527) sets out a comparison of three widely used agent-based modeling toolkits: RePast, NetLogo, and Swarm. It shows the differences between the toolkits, setting out the advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of each software toolkit.
Agent-Based Models to Manage the Complex
Agent-Based Models to Manage the Complex is a book chapter in Managing Organizational Complexity: Philosophy, Theory and Application: Volume 1 (ISCE Book Series – Managing the Complex) is an introduction to the use of agent-based models in management. It demonstrates the use of models in Repast, an agent-based modeling toolkit, and links this to complexity science concepts …
Into the Depths of the Freedom of Information Act
The Freedom of Information Act is a thing of beauty. So much so that Tony Blair described the prime minister that introduced the Act as an ‘idiot, a ‘naive, foolish, irresponsible nincompoop’. Government departments have now taken it upon themselves to publish a list of requests (although not necessarily refused requests – more of that …
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