Abstract for: Looking Back and Beyond the Complex Dynamics of Humanitarian Operations

Humanitarian Operations (HOs) are characterized by a high degree of uncertainty once a disaster location and timing are unknown, and stakeholders need to operate under scarce resources, making these operations complex to manage. Thus, this research systematically captures the dynamic relations in HOs complex context by undertaking a systematic review of extant academic literature linking HOs to the system dynamics (SD) simulation method. As a result, the present research reviews 72 papers and proposes: (i) a taxonomy focused on identifying researchers in different subjects/topics covered in the literature; (ii) a framework represented through a causal loop diagram (CLD) to summarise the taxonomy, offering a view of operational activities and their linkages pre- and post-disasters; and (iii) a research agenda for future research avenues.