The exploration-exploitation dilemma: a multidisciplinary framework

The trade-off between the need to obtain new knowledge and the need to use that knowledge to improve performance is one of the most basic trade-offs in nature, and optimal performance usually requires some balance between exploratory and exploitative behaviors. Researchers in many disciplines have b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2014-04, Vol.9 (4), p.e95693-e95693
Main Authors: Berger-Tal, Oded, Nathan, Jonathan, Meron, Ehud, Saltz, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Algorithms
Animals
Behavior
Biology and Life Sciences
Decision making
Ecology
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Exploitation
Exploration
Gorillas
Handbooks
Knowledge acquisition
Knowledge management
Landscape
Mathematical functions
Models, Theoretical
Motivation
Neural networks
Optimization
Physics
Problem solving
Quality management
Resource allocation
Scientists
Social Sciences
Solar energy
Studies
Theory
Tradeoffs
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Summary:The trade-off between the need to obtain new knowledge and the need to use that knowledge to improve performance is one of the most basic trade-offs in nature, and optimal performance usually requires some balance between exploratory and exploitative behaviors. Researchers in many disciplines have been searching for the optimal solution to this dilemma. Here we present a novel model in which the exploration strategy itself is dynamic and varies with time in order to optimize a definite goal, such as the acquisition of energy, money, or prestige. Our model produced four very distinct phases: Knowledge establishment, Knowledge accumulation, Knowledge maintenance, and Knowledge exploitation, giving rise to a multidisciplinary framework that applies equally to humans, animals, and organizations. The framework can be used to explain a multitude of phenomena in various disciplines, such as the movement of animals in novel landscapes, the most efficient resource allocation for a start-up company, or the effects of old age on knowledge acquisition in humans.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0095693