Behavioral Operations Management
By Christoph H. Loch, Technology and Operations Management, INSEAD, France, christoph.loch@insead.edu | Yaozhong Wu, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, bizwyz@nus.edu.sg
Abstract
Behavioral Operations Management investigates new developments around behavioral components — "people issues" — in operations management (OM). While these "people issues" are not new, OM has not dealt with them in a serious or consistent manner until the last 10 years or so. What is new is the emergence of a set of methods and structured areas of study that allow researchers to study these issues within the OM paradigm. The authors provide a definition of Behavioral OM and survey a number of relevant behavioral issues and their applications to the existing OM research. Finally, the authors propose that culture studies in OM may represent a promising direction of future behavioral OM research.
Behavioral Operations Management
Behavioral Operations Management stems from a long observed gap in operations management on our understanding of human behavior and the emergence of a set of methods that promise the potential of being able to address such behavioral issues. The recent emergence of a set of methods and structured areas of study allow us to analyze behavioral issues within the OM paradigm. The potential of Behavioral Operations Management is a continuation of using rigorous mathematical theory and scientific experimental methods to study a set of phenomena previously unable to be modeled. Behavioral Operations Management starts with a short overview of the field of operations management. The authors define Behavioral OM and overview a number of important relevant behavioral issues including their applications in the existing OM work. Finally, the authors propose new directions for research on these topics.
