Tim Haslett, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
Charles Osborne, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Abstract: This paper proposes that the theory of local rules provides a model for explaining organizational behavior as an emergent property of a fitness landscape. While local rule theory has its genesis in evolutionary biology, this paper links it to work in computational mathematical organizational theory. It further proposes that there are conditions, characterized by coadaptation, under which rules will survive in relatively stable forms, and other conditions, characterized by competition, under which local rules will change. The paper then discusses how catastrophe analysis can provide insights into changing patterns of organizational interactions. A discussion of methodology outline shows developments in agent-based simulation modeling can contribute to the development of local rule theory.

Keywords: local rules, self-organization, simulation, organizational behavior, fitness landscape