Abstract for: Using the Beer Game for more than education and inventory management research

The Beer Distribution Game has been used almost exclusively for educational purposes or to study inventory management topics. We propose a simple process that can be used to study a much broader range of topics, such as those originating in the field of behavioral operations management. Using the example of inequity aversion, we demonstrate the efficacy of this process by developing quantitative models, eliciting testable predictions through computer simulation, and designing and conducting laboratory experiments aimed at testing those predictions. In doing so we contribute to the methodology of system dynamics, the Beer Distribution Game, and to the field of behavioral operations management.