Agent-based artificial market model-the case study of de-facto standard on VCR market

Abstract

In this paper, the agent-based artificial market model is proposed as a simple model to describe the society as a multi-agent system. We examine the case study of competition on the standardization of video cassette recorders (VCR). In this case the compatibility of the video software is definitely important to choose the VCR. The simulation result shows that the communications among agents are breaking the symmetry of the market share, then the asymmetry is enlarged further with accelerated speed. The model is useful to understand what has happened in the technological lock-in phenomena.