PhD Defence: Jelle de Vries
In his dissertation ‘Behavioral Operations in Logistics’ ERIM’s Jelle de Vries aims to contribute to theory and practice by investigating which behavioral factors and individual characteristics of workers and managers influence the outcomes of logistical processes, and to what extent.
Jelle defended his dissertation in the Senate Hall at Erasmus University Rotterdam on Thursday, 18 February 2016 at 11:30. His supervisor was Prof.dr. M.B.M de Koster and his Co-supervisor was Dr. D.A. Stam.. Other members of the Doctoral Committee were Prof.dr. S.R. Giessner (RSM), Prof.dr.ir. J. Dul, (RSM), Dr. K.H. Doerr (NPS) and Prof.dr.ir. S. De Leeuw (VU Amsterdam).
About Jelle de Vries
Jelle de Vries (1988) received his bachelor’s degree with majors in Economics and Psychology and a minor in Statistics from University College Utrecht in 2010 and graduated from the ERIM MPhil Research Master program at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University in 2012. His master thesis, focusing on the impact of leadership on warehouse safety, won the Dutch Logistics Master Thesis Award. After his graduation, he continued working at RSM to pursue a PhD degree. His research interests include behavioral operations management, warehousing, and occupational safety. In early 2015, he was a visiting scholar in California at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, and California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. His research findings have been presented at various international conferences including POMS, AOM, ILS, and LOGMS. In the fall of 2015, he started his tenure track at VU University Amsterdam.
Thesis Abstract
People play an essential role in nearly all logistical operations. At the same time, most models trying to explain and predict the performance of logistical systems and processes assume that people behave perfectly rational. Reality shows a different picture, and people’s deviations from rationality hamper the accuracy of traditional models. The field of Behavioral Operations Management incorporates behavioral insights in Operations Management to account for these deviations from rationality. These deviations are commonly studied at the level of the decision makers, but also influence lower-level workers. For example, a manager might influence operational performance by increasing or decreasing employee motivation through his or her leadership or choice of incentive system. At the same time, some employees might be more motivated to work in a specific context than others. This dissertation aims to contribute to theory and practice by investigating which behavioral factors and individual characteristics of workers and managers influence the outcomes of logistical processes, and to what extent. This issue is addressed in five chapters, each of which focuses on different individual or behavioral characteristics (leadership, personality, regulatory focus), a different research context (occupational safety, order picking, and transport), or a different methodological approach (survey research, field experiments, and lab experiments).
· View and download Jelle's dissertation
Photos: Chris Gorzeman / Capital Images
