Behavioural operational research: Towards a framework for understanding behaviour in OR interventions

Stimulated by the growing interest in behavioural issues in the management sciences, research scholars have begun to address the implications of behavioural insights for Operational Research (OR). This current work reviews some foundational debates on the nature of OR to serve as a theoretical backdrop to orient a discussion on a behavioural perspective and OR. The paper addresses a specific research need by outlining that there is a distinct and complementary contribution of a behavioural perspective to OR. However, there is a need to build a theoretical base in which the insights from classical behavioural research is just one of a number of convergent building blocks that together point towards a compelling basis for behavioural OR. In particular, the focus of the paper is a framework that highlights the collective nature of OR practice and provides a distinct and interesting line of enquiry for future research.