Practicing, Teaching and Doing Empirical Research on Theory-Based Strategies: A Simulation Platform

This seminar introduces the Theory-Driven Strategy Simulation (TDSS) platform which allows one to learn and practice how to develop a theory of value for a business. The theory-based approach to strategic decision-making under uncertainty, posits that strategists should envision future states (or, equivalently, formulate strategic problems as causal conceptual structures characterized by a conscious belief. The TDSS platform allows players to practice and learn the development of theories of value. Nudged by the narratives of world-famous case studies, players put themselves in the shoes of the founders or top executives and craft their theory of value simulating the strategists’ process of reasoning, belief formation, testing and updating. Differently from traditional case studies or other simulations, the outcomes of the simulations are subjective probability distributions (in the form of a parameter, its expected probability) which is the result of the player’s reasoning. In the current version, the simulation backend provides the probability distributions (generated by an algorithm) which represent how likely the “true” theories and future state spaces are to occur. The simulation produces these probabilities allowing the player to get a feedback about her theorizing. 

Simulation platform: https://imsl.unibocconi.it/

*This seminar is connected to the seminar "Theory-Driven Strategic Management Decisions" by Alfonso Gambardella taking place on the same day at 10:30 in Langeveld 0.10.