Self-Organizing Cooperative Dynamics in Government Extended Enterprises

Abstract

This paper presents the results of our research into cooperation in Government Extended Enterprises, a type of system of systems. The effort proposed and evaluated a novel theory that these decisions are the result of the interaction of four canonical forces—Sympathy, Trust, Fear, and Greed. A computational simulation involving the Stag Hunt game examined information sharing decisions in a series of key decision points in three large case studies. For the five hypotheses tested, exploratory data analysis and nonparametric statistical testing show strong support for three of the hypotheses (cooperation is positively correlated with actors’ levels of Sympathy and Trust and negatively correlated with actors’ levels of Fear) and moderate support for the fourth (cooperation is negatively correlated with actors’ levels of Greed). Indications are that the fifth hypothesis (cooperation is correlated with history of behavior) is not needed to explain observed behavior. Multiple correspondence analysis showed significant interactions both among pairs of forces and when a force is paired with decision making strategies. These results can form the basis for: 1) analysis of additional case studies; 2) development of an agent-based simulation; and 3) creation of training programs for current and future organizational leaders.