Measuring industry regulations using an agent-based model: The case of online games in Korea

Abstract

As game industry prospers, the negative side of games becomes highlighted as well as its contributions to economy growth. In spite of strong arguments for the necessity to regulations as a means to decrease addiction or overindulgence, research has produced future suggestions rather than quantifiable evidence. In this paper, we propose adopting a simulation approach in addition to quantitative approaches to better understand optimal regulatory levels since a simulation approach can visualize unexpected side effects of regulations. In this study, we suggest the application of an agent-based model (ABM) as a smart service to measure the effects of regulatory policies. We review cases applying ABM in various domains and consider the possibility of using an ABM to understand the effectiveness of web board-game regulations. We find that the ABM approach would be useful in several areas, such as the analysis of regulatory effects that reflect a variety of characteristics, the measurement of micro-regulatory effects, and the simulation of regulations. © 2013 The Korean Society of Management Information Systems.