Investigating organizational strategic inertia using a particle swarm model

The key task of corporate strategists is to uncover and implement viable strategies for their organization. This is a difficult task for several reasons, including uncertainty as to future payoffs, and strategic inertia. This study, using a swarm metaphor, constructs a simulation model to examine the impact of strategic inertia on the adaptation of the strategic fitness of a population of organizations. The results suggest that a degree of strategic inertia, in the presence of an election operator, can assist rather than hamper adaptive efforts of organizations in static and slowly changing environments.