Research joint ventures in an R&D driven market with evolving consumer preferences: An evolutionary multi-agent based modelling approach

RD collaborations have increasingly attracted the attention of both academic and business circles in the last couple of decades. Several empirical studies have concentrated on the firms incentives to participate in these collaborations. This paper presents an alternative approach to RD collaborations using an evolutionary, multi-agent based and sector-level RD model. The model will firstly be used to simulate the evolution of an RD driven market composed of profit-driven firms and boundedly rational consumers. Next, frequently discussed research questions in the relevant empirical literature will be explored. This modelling exercise will extend beyond a basic confirmation/rejection of these research questions by showing that the way a firm is defined as an RD collaborator has a significant effect on research results.