A study of collective entrepreneurship using agent-based modeling

Abstract

In this paper, three alternative accounts of collective intentionality and shared agency, namely Bratman (2014), Gilbert (2014), and Tuomela (2013) are examined. Each of the three accounts of group formation around shared intentionality are created into agent-based models of a number of agents that seek partners in shared agency. The different mechanisms that each account uses for establishing joint intentions --Gilbert's joint (prior) commitment, Bratman's meshing sub-plans, and Tuomela's shared ethos -- create different behaviors for agents searching for partners and forming groups for subsequent collective action. Agents move, meet, sense each other's attributes, and attempt to form a collective in a series of time steps in the agent-based model.