Organizational Supercompensation? Could Alternating Familiar and Challenging Conditions Benefit Individual and Organizational Fitness?

Fred Ingram, Dinuka Herath

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Although organizations have always needed to respond to changes in their environment, with the current high corporate mortality rates there is much interest in how an organization can survive in highly unstable and unfamiliar environments. In practice, the level of environmental dynamism fluctuates between stability and instability periodically or sporadically, with the magnitude, frequency, unpredictability, risks, and nature of such fluctuations rapidly increasing in recent times. Our focus is on how an organization can survive such fluctuations. It is well-documented that humans and other organisms can benefit from some environmental variation, as in training regimes where increased intensity or new activities followed by a period of rest and recuperation can lead to improved health and performance. To investigate whether this is possible for organizations also, we developed an agent-based model that simulates project-oriented organizations with individuals interacting, completing tasks, and developing skills. The model illustrates how organizations exposed to periodic episodes of familiar stable and unfamiliar unstable external entropy levels can, under specific conditions, recover and maintain or improve performance. This research contributes to understanding how organizations adapt and thrive in dynamic environments, offering insights for managers navigating extreme variations in external entropy levels.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAdvances in Social Simulation
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 19th Social Simulation Conference, Cracow, Poland, 16-20 September 2024
EditorsMarcin Czupryna, Bogumił Kamiński, Harko Verhagen
Place of PublicationCham
PublisherSpringer, Cham
Chapter15
Pages207-221
Number of pages15
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9783031917820
ISBN (Print)9783031917813, 9783031917844
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Oct 2025
Event19th Social Simulation Conference - Cracow University of Economics, Cracow, Poland
Duration: 16 Sept 202420 Sept 2024
https://ssc2024.uek.krakow.pl/

Publication series

NameSpringer Proceedings in Complexity
PublisherSpringer Cham
ISSN (Print)2213-8684
ISSN (Electronic)2213-8692

Conference

Conference19th Social Simulation Conference
Abbreviated titleSSC2024
Country/TerritoryPoland
CityCracow
Period16/09/2420/09/24
Internet address

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  • Centre for Biominetic Societal Futures

    Towns-Andrews, L. (PI), Kusev, P. (CoI), Kara, A. (CoI), Herath, D. (CoI), Validi, S. (CoI), Jabbar, A. (CoI), Nikitas, A. (CoI), Roper, S. (CoI), Ginger, M. (CoI), Phillips, R. (CoI), Du, C. (CoI), Amaratunga, D. (CoI), Haigh, R. (CoI), Murphy, A. (CoI), Hill, R. (CoI), Parkinson, S. (CoI), Johnson, A. (CoI), Bryan, H. (CoI), Thomas, P. (CoI), McIntyre, D. (CoI), Jeffries, L. (CoI), Bailey, R. (CoI), Townsley, J. (CoI), Unver, E. (CoI), Goswami, P. (CoI), Roach, J. (CoI), Grimm, V. (CoI), Worley, C. (CoI), Siebers, P.-O. (CoI), Bardone, E. (CoI), Madsen, J. K. (CoI), Neumann, M. (CoI), Seri, R. (CoI), Durrant, R. (CoI), Wortley, R. (CoI), Sidebottom, A. (CoI), Ekblom, P. (CoI), Pease, K. (CoI), Taylor, M. (CoI), Silke, A. (CoI), Dewandre, N. (CoI) & Hemachandra, K. (CoI)

    1/10/2130/09/24

    Project: Research

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