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Complex problems with multiple stakeholders: how to bridge the gap between reality and OR/MS?

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Abstract

The world becomes increasingly complex and problems tend to be broader and multidisciplinary. At the same time, OR/MS research seems to be narrowing down, building even more on analytical models. The flip side is the risk that OR/MS is increasingly diverging from reality and that its dominant paradigm becomes insufficient to guide us in understanding and solving complicated real-world problems. A methodology that allows a broader insight into exploring a complex system’s behaviour is urgently needed to guide OR/MS analytical models. We propose system dynamics as a methodology to link reality with the dominant OR/MS paradigm of narrowly focused and highly analytical models.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSEAD, Boulevard de Constance, 77305, Fontainebleau, France

    Luk N. Van Wassenhove

  2. Kuehne Logistics University, Brooktorkai 20, 20457, Hamburg, Germany

    Maria Besiou

Authors
  1. Luk N. Van Wassenhove
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  2. Maria Besiou
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Correspondence to Luk N. Van Wassenhove.

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Van Wassenhove, L.N., Besiou, M. Complex problems with multiple stakeholders: how to bridge the gap between reality and OR/MS?. J Bus Econ 83, 87–97 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-012-0643-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-012-0643-3

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