https://link.springer.com/collections/ihbedddhga
Overview of the Scope
Behavioral Operations explores how real human behavior impacts operational decision-making. Traditional operations research often relies on assumptions of full rationality, yet evidence from psychology and behavioral economics highlights that people systematically deviate from these assumptions due to biases, heuristics, social preferences, and bounded rationality.
The special issue welcomes original contributions that combine insights from operations research, psychology, behavioral economics, and information systems to better understand and improve decision-making processes in real-world operational settings. Manuscript should be accessible for the broad readership of OR Spectrum, i.e., sufficient reference to traditional OR/OM work is essential.
We are particularly interested in empirical and experimental work that advances the field of behavioral operations. This includes laboratory and field experiments that reveal behavioral drivers of decision-making. In particular, we encourage studies involving incentivized experiments with human decision-makers to validate models, test interventions, or uncover new behavioral phenomena relevant to operations/supply chain management. The goal is to foster a deeper understanding of how behavior shapes operational performance and to design systems that are both effective and human-centric.
Topics of Interest include (but are not limited to):
• Behavioral aspects in supply chain management, inventory management, and logistics, including how human decision-making affects coordination and performance.
• Human aspects in project management, new product development, and innovation, e.g., with a focus on decision-making in dynamic and collaborative settings.
• Social interaction during procurement, bargaining, and negotiation, focusing on behavioral drivers such as fairness, trust, and strategic behavior.
• Incentive design and contract theory with behavioral considerations, e.g., accounting for bounded rationality and motivational factors.
• Behavior in service systems, such as retail or healthcare operations, emphasizing decisions under uncertainty and time pressure.
• Human behavior in operations management tasks such as forecasting or resource allocation, e.g., exploring heuristics, biases, and learning effects.
• Behavioral game theory in operations management and strategic interactions, incorporating how individuals make decisions in competitive and cooperative environments.
• Human behavior in humanitarian, sustainable, or resilient operations, including responses to stress, urgency, and ethical dilemmas.
• Human–AI interaction and behavioral responses to decision support systems and algorithms, e.g., examining trust, reliance, and override behavior.
Submission Guidelines and Review Process
Papers must be submitted via http://www.editorialmanager.com/orsp/ by December 31st, 2026. During the submission process, please select "S.I.: Behavioral Operations" in the 'Additional Information' section.
All submissions should report original research and align with the aims and scope of OR Spectrum, applying rigorous empirical and quantitative methods. Submissions will be screened by the Editor-in-Chief and a Special Issue Editor. If suitable, they will undergo double-blind peer review by at least two expert reviewers. We aim for a fair and efficient review process, targeting feedback within three months. Accepted articles will be available online before the print release of the special issue.