A behavioural approach to operations management at ECBOM
Human beings don’t behave rationally, but the vast majority of research into supply chain management still builds upon the assumption that they do. At the new Erasmus Centre for Behavioural Operations Management (ECBOM), an interdisciplinary research team brings the understanding of human behaviour into operations management.
The human factor
‘The human factor is crucial for the proper functioning of operating systems and supply chains,’ says <link people michaela-schippers _blank>Michaéla Schippers, ECBOM’s Scientific Director. ‘Behavioural research, that is, taking a psychological perspective on team decision-making in supply chains, is therefore critical to the field of supply chain management.’
At present, supply chain managers and teams make decisions that systematically deviate from the optimal decisions dictated by decision-making models. By taking human behaviour into account, the researchers at ECBOM aim to explain why and ultimately seek to develop effective interventions.
Interdisciplinary research team
Alongside Schippers, who is herself an organisational psychologist, ECBOM’s interdisciplinary research team consists of <link people steef-van-de-velde _blank>Steef van de Velde, Professor of Operations Management and Technology and the interim dean of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; and Laurens Rook, assistant professor at Delft University of Technology with expertise in cognitive psychology.
Schippers: ‘We constitute one of the very few truly interdisciplinary research teams. Instead of merely observing systematic deviations from rational or optimal decision-making, we can dig deeper. Our interdisciplinarity allows us to test and refine cognitive and social psychological theories applied to supply chain management issues and dilemmas.’
Corporate partners
Since its inception, the centre has partnered with the consultancy firm Involvation on the <link research centres behavioral-operations-management projects detail>Fresh Connection game, a supply chain management game for professionals. ‘Teams run a company in which logistics play an important role. We study the teams playing the game; Involvation uses our analysis to advise the players and improve the game,’ explains Schippers. ECBOM’s second partner is Inspired-Search, an executive search company for supply chain and logistics professionals. Schippers: ‘Together with this partner, we develop skills and competencies profiles for executive positions in supply chain management.’
ECBOM also offers positions to external PhD candidates. ‘We are already working with several external PhD candidates, who run their PhD projects next to their day jobs in at logistics firm.’ Schippers and her team invite others to apply: ‘Anyone interested can contact me to check for possibilities.’
