Abstract for: When Fairness Matters - The Role of Reciprocal Decision Making and Behaviour in Dynamic Production Systems

This work contributes to the current body of research on drivers of behaviour in dynam-ic systems by modelling the underlying mechanism of how dealing out and experienc-ing reciprocity affects actors’ decision-making and utility in a dynamic production sys-tem. Drawing from gaming theory as well as the theory of marginal utility, a system dy-namics model is developed. In a four-tier supply chain based on Stermans Beer Game, decision makers are shown to exhibit reciprocal behaviour in line with their experi-enced inequity and its consequence on their individual utility function. The simulation runs aim to depict the impact of reciprocal concerns on the performance of a dynami-cally complex supply chain. Analysed through cross-comparison, the results show whether the existence of adverse supply chain dynamics is affected by reciprocal con-siderations. It is hypothesised that especially in cases of multiple players exhibiting reciprocity, a reinforcing loop or vicious cycle is generated where there are no winners and system performance as well as collaboration and trust is expected to deteriorate more and more.