This paper describes the use of an agent-based model (ABM) with the purpose of simulating interaction processes in business networks. Such an ABM must be able to capture time and process in networks while retaining a level of comprehension and overview. The ABM rests on the assumption that business networks can be viewed as complex adaptive systems (CAS) and draws on the opportunities to build and use ABMs to simulate processes in such systems. This paper outlines the conceptual foundations and the methodological challenges and opportunities associated with such an endeavor with special reference to issues concerning the modeling of the complexities of business networks. Specifically it discusses the use of ABM and research case in combination in an effort to produce a robust methodology. It contributes with suggestions on how one concretely can handle these issues and challenges when using ABMs to model non-linear dynamic interaction processes in networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Business Administration is the property of Sciedu Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. 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.)
The actor-dimension of the Activitiy-Resource-Actor (ARA)-model has not gained the same attention among Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) scholars as the resource and activity dimensions. However, the issue of what an actor actually is, in the sense of its interactive constitution, is important from an industrial marketing and purchasing perspective that emphasizes the interactive character of the business landscape. This is adressed in this paper. As a concequence of their interactive constitution, actors come in many forms and they are never pre-determined but rather continuously forged out of interactions. In this paper, the Activity-Resource-Actor-model is used to illustrate how actors are forged by interaction and to explore interaction-patterns around an actor of an unusual shape: A city. The purpose is to explore the small world of a city as a business actor and to illustrate the multi-level and variable character of actors. The paper concludes with a definition of what is termed interactive actors.