Abstract for: Using PID Control for Theory Development and Policy Design: Methods and Analysis

Servomechanisms provided a feedback-rich metaphor for the development of system dynamics modeling. While adjacent fields adhere closely to control theory principles, system dynamics practice draws from a wide knowledge base to inform its approach to model development and simulation-based analysis. In one adjacent field, scholars studying supply chain management (SCM) have called for the use of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control in SCM. PID control is a holistic feedback control system which adjusts a control mechanism by considering the difference between a variable and its goal using past, present, and predictions of its future. This paper advances previous system dynamics research by elucidating methods for tuning a PID controller within simulation software, and showcasing its potential impact on theory development and policy design for SCM. In theory development, it enabled the synthesis of theory concepts in emancipatory theory, stakeholder theory, business in society, and the dissolution of an operations sustainability paradox. For policy design, it enabled the development of a policy for algorithm-oriented SCM, with implications for organizational innovation in operations and strategy. Through collaboration with adjacent fields, particularly those adhering to control theory, system dynamics researchers may gain access to rich metaphors for theory development and effective solutions for policy design.