ISSN:
1540-5915
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Economics
Notes:
An experimental study of decision-maker learning in a competitive environment was conducted using a computer simulation game. The subject decision makers included practicing managers, professionals, and management graduate students. The subjects competed in a simulated market and made decisions concerning price, product quality, production level, and marketing effort. The objective of the study was to identify patterns of information usage exhibited by decision makers during the learning process under conditions controlling the availability and cost of information.The experiment convincingly demonstrated that decision makers that have the opportunity to select the data reported to them tend to progress faster in identifying a successful strategy than those that receive an externally prescribed report. This tendency is exhibited independently of the amount of data in the externally prescribed report. Further, there is substantive evidence from the experiment to show that when decision makers are given the opportunity to select their own data, the amount and type of data chosen follows a stable pattern over time during the learning process.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.1980.tb01164.x
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