About the Center

Robert H. Smith’s Center for Complexity in Business (CCB) is the world’s first (and only) research center specializing in the application of complex systems methods to business problems.

Our Mission

The term “complex systems” characterizes systems that consist of large numbers of components that exhibit non-linear interactions and whose behavior cannot be adequately understood or predicted by simple global models and parameters. The past ten years have witnessed an explosion in the field of complexity as the availability of cheap computational power has allowed researchers and practitioners to successfully apply complex systems methods to analyze previously intractable problems in areas as diverse as engineering, physics, biology, sociology, brain science, and organization science.

At exactly the same time, important trends, such as globalization and rapid advances in Internet and communications technologies have rendered business systems more complex and unpredictable than ever. Traditional management research tools, such as game theory, operations research, statistical analysis, field experiments, etc. face growing difficulties in helping us understand the complex and interconnected world of modern business. Some fields, notably strategy, organization science and marketing, have already begun experimenting with the use of complex methods with extremely promising results.

We believe that we are at an inflexion point where complexity methods are going to enter the mainstream of management research. We, therefore, believe that the establishment of a Research Center (the first one of its kind) focused on the application of complex systems research to business problems at the Smith School of Business is extremely timely.

Our Objectives

• Achieve international academic recognition as the leading research center for complexity research applied to business problems.
• Educate business leaders, Ph.D. students, MBA students, MS students, and undergraduates in the use of complex systems methods to analyze and solve business problems.
• Help create a new generation of business school scholars well-versed in complexity research.
• Host the world’s leading annual conference on complexity in business.
• Work together with Partner companies to help solve complex business problems that defy traditional approaches.
• Create entrepreneurial opportunities for students, faculty, and Maryland business people.