On February 18, Jelle defended his thesis “Behavioral Operations in Logistics” CUM LAUDE!

Congratulations, Jelle!

Summary

People play an essential role in almost all logistical processes, and have a substantial influence on logistical outcomes. However, in their actions and decisions people do not always behave perfectly rational. This can be problematic, especially as most processes and models do not take this potential irrationality into account. As a consequence, theoretical models are often less accurate than they could be and companies might be confronted with suboptimal outcomes. The field of behavioral operations aims to address this issue by departing from the assumption that all agents participating in operating systems or processes are fully rational in not only their decisions, but also in their actions. This dissertation focuses on addressing the latter aspect by investigating which behavioral factors and individual characteristics of people influence different outcomes in (intra)logistics, and to what extent. In five separate studies, we consider not only productivity as outcome measure, but also safety and productivity. More specifically, we study the relation between these outcomes and behavioral factors such as regulatory focus, personality, safety-specific transformational leadership, and incentive systems. The results provide a strong illustration of the potential impact of behavioral factors in the (intra)logistical context, and can help managers to increase safety and productivity in their organizations.