ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that computer simulations should be added enthusiastically to the organization theory tool kit. In the first section, it discusses the benefits of using computer simulation as a modeling technique in the so-called behavioral field of organization theory. In the second section, it explains the research that has been conducted in one particular conceptual area of organizational theory, organizational learning; this area has experienced a significant amount of theory development that has benefited from the use of computer simulations. It reviews and comments on simulations of organizations as goal-directed, routine-guided, experiential learning systems. The contributions of this work to organization theory are discussed. In the third section, it covers how work based on computer simulations can be communicated effectively to the larger organizational theory audience. The chapter demonstrates that organizational research based on computer simulations can be made accessible and relevant to a wide audience of organizational theorists.
