Is Agent‐Based Modeling System Dynamics? Revisiting the Restaurant With Questions to the Manager

ABSTRACT

This note aims to contribute to the ongoing identity discussion within the system dynamics community. Although this discussion has been ongoing for some time, there is still no universally agreed‐upon definition of the field. Over the last decade, two streams have emerged: one views system dynamics as a methodology for analyzing dynamic complex systems, while the other argues that system dynamics is an overarching modeling philosophy that can be applied using various modeling architectures, including compartment models, individual (agent‐based) models, dynamic network models, and discrete simulation models. Building on Sterman's notion that comparing system dynamics and agent‐based models is a “false opposition,” this research involved interviews with 13 senior academics, both from the system dynamics and agent‐based modeling communities, to provide further perspective and input into the discussion.