Characteristics of Simulation: A Meta-Review of Modern Simulation Applications

Simulation studies enable practitioners and researchers to prove assumptions and hypotheses. Through experiments, they can analyze real-world and conceptual systems. Hence, simulation is an integral part of industrial and scientific work. Nevertheless, simulation applications have to adapt to modern, digitized working changes. As simulation evolves analogously to the industrial world, the scientific world must adjust accordingly, and new research streams for the next steps of simulation's evolution must be defined. This work aims at gathering and exhibiting the properties of recent simulation studies. It provides the groundwork for the definition of research streams for the future of simulation. The paper lays the foundation for prescriptive design knowledge on simulation studies through a structured literature review. Thus, researchers and practitioners are enabled to take on the current challenges of simulation based on a descriptive up-to-date data basis.