On the Preference to Avoid Ex Post Inventory Errors

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kremer, Mirko; Minner, Stefan; Van Wassenhove, Luk N.
• 署名单位: Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); Pennsylvania State University; Pennsylvania State University - University Park; Technical University of Munich; INSEAD Business School
• 刊物名称: PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1059-1478
• DOI: 10.1111/poms.12071
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 773-787
• 关键词: task complexity; INFORMATION; Postponement; uncertainty; benefits; MODEL

摘要

The value of demand information underlies many supply chain strategies that aim at better matching supply and demand. This study reports on the results of a laboratory experiment designed to estimate the behavioral value of demand information. Relative to the commonly assumed benchmark of a rational risk-neutral decision maker, we find that decision makers are consistently willing to pay too much for the option to eliminate the risk of supply not matching demand. Contrary to intuition, we show that risk aversion does not explain this result. We posit that demand information provides behavioral value because it mitigates regret from ex post inventory errors.