The what, the why and the how of behavioural operational research-An invitation to potential sceptics

Primarily this paper addresses those members of the OR community who remain unconvinced that widening the Behavioural Operational Research agenda beyond decision behaviour modelling to encompass research on the modelling process itself, is a desirable and/or necessary step for the parent discipline to take. Using a process perspective that emphasises human activity and the temporal evolution of OR projects, the paper shows that the appeal of this particular strand of BOR lies in its ability to strengthen the bridge between academic OR and its professional practice in which the human and social challenges can be just as important as the intellectual and technical ones. In so doing, this wider remit for BOR better positions practitioners to reduce the reliance that they currently have on apprenticeship and the gradual accumulation of craft skills in meeting the various challenges that they face. An immediate priority outlined in this paper is for academic and practitioner authors to turn further in the direction of relevant theory in an attempt to communicate process understandings of OR interventions through the literature that better resonate with experience.