Individual strategic behavior in a team formation agent-based simulation

The modern knowledge worker is faced with managing their time across multiple projects. To ensure the successful completion of one project, the worker might be inclined to put more time into that project than was originally intended, at the expense of other projects with which they are involved. This paper looks at the impact of this type of strategic behavior on the output of research teams. Our model was an adaption of Bakshy and Wilensky’s team assembly model which looked at the formation of academic teams to complete some collaborative research task. The agents, who represent researchers, make strategic decision to increase their prestige through the selection of the teams they work with. The results indicate that the average size of the disjoint components, sets on connected agents, decreases when prestige is introduced. This implies a smaller, more cliquey, “invisible” college is formed within a given field of study.