Modeling Organizational Behavior With Fuzzy Cognitive Maps

A fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) is a computer-simulation methodology for representing and predicting the behavior of models of arbitrary complexity. FCMs exhibit several desirable properties, including the abilities to specify models of unlimited complexity, to model changes in state behavior over time, to model linear and nonlinear relations, and to evaluate the time-induced implications of a model via iterative vector-matrix operations. In this article, we focus on the application of FCMs for modeling organizational behavior. We derived an empirical model of organizational behavior and conducted two studies in which variables were manipulated and results evaluated. The results suggest that FCMs allow researchers to assess longitudinal implications of a model, including the ability to model simultaneously both mediator and moderator relations. We discuss comparisons with structural equation modeling, along with the advantages and disadvantages of computer simulations for providing qualitative causal information in organizational behavior research.