A Literature Review of the Application of Multi-agent Modeling and Simulation to Entrepreneurial Research

Multi-agent modeling and simulation have been sprung up in entrepreneurial research,and become a systematic way to testify complicated entrepreneurial problems. However, actual progress in this field is slow,so it is necessary to sort out current research and specify future application prospects. This paper reviews the literature from four perspectives,namely entrepreneurial agents,entrepreneurial opportunity,entrepreneurial learning and entrepreneurial knowledge. It comes to corresponding conclusions as follows:firstly,the research from the perspective of entrepreneurial agent focuses on organizations,so future research needs to transform from a single level concerning organizations to multi-level research concerning individuals,teams and organizations;secondly,the research from the opportunity perspective has already proposed knowledge matching degree as a criterion concerning opportunity recognition and developing process,but still does not clearly reveal its essential differences in the two paradigms of opportunity recognition view and opportunity creation view,so future work may combine theoretical research with building models and criteria in corresponding paradigm;thirdly,knowledge and learning are two key elements in describing entrepreneurial practice,and both are widely used in entrepreneurial stimulation models,whereas models pay little attention to other classifications of learning and knowledge,as well as their influences on entrepreneurship. Finally,based on current research conclusion,this paper summarizes existing restrictions in both entrepreneurship research and simulation model building,and provides directions in future simulation research in entrepreneurship field.