Fig. 4: Technological behavior and VaR of firm growth.

Note: There is no single optimal combination of exploration and exploitation under uncertainty, as it depends on the decision-maker’s risk preference. k values of 0.25, 0.52, 0.67, 0.84, and 1.28 were selected to correspond to the 40%, 30%, 25% (Q1), 20%, and 10% percentiles, respectively, of a Gaussian distribution. The riskiest behavior involves ignoring uncertainty (k = 0), with a balance around 50% exploration and 50% exploitation. The most cautious behavior focuses solely on uncertainty, relegating expected growth (k = ∞), with the balance around 85% exploitation and 15% exploration. The most common risk behavior corresponds to the first quartile (k = 0.67), with the balance around 37% exploration and 63% exploitation.