Construction kits or virtual worlds; Management applications of E2E models

We review briefly the diversity of modeling activity that comes under the rubric of end-to-end (E2E) models, but the focus of this paper - of joint concern to researchers and to managers - is on applications to management and decision making. The models and applications span a range from “construction kits” that identify particular management issues and use comparisons across ecosystems; to “virtual worlds” that immerse managers in the details of strategic evaluations for particular systems. The general conclusion is that “application” is not a straightforward transition from theory to practice but a complex interactive process.