Interesting article on applying game theory to business decisions. Game theory is a tool that is not often used. Though most organizations are probably better off improving how they use the rest of their management tools, it is fun to read about and does have merit in the right situations. 16,777,236 [the broken link was removed] – That’s the number of outcomes that are possible when eight competitors each consider three strategic options.
California Institute of Technology professor R. Preston McAfee, a leading game theorist who helped the U.S. government design auctions for broadband spectrum, says doubters ought to remember that game theory is a tool, not an answer. “Game theory is sometimes criticized because it doesn’t actually completely solve the problem,” McAfee says. “On the other hand, the exercise of applying game theory very often clears up things that you can dispense with—issues that aren’t salient to the decision process. Sometimes just thinking it through identifies strategies that you hadn’t thought available.”
