Bipolarity in Reactions to Operational ‘Constraints’: OM bugs under an OB lens

In the 1980 inaugural issue of the Journal of Operations Management, Powell and Johnson stressed the need to introduce behavioral factors into research models of operational processes and performance. While some progress has been made since then, contemporary authors argue that limited dialogue between operations management and behavioral researchers continues to restrict the interpretability of such studies. Drawing on expertise from both operations and behavioral research, and motivated by a case example, we intend to further this dialogue. In doing so we outline interdisciplinary commonalities and several methodological pitfalls that those studying the links between resource constraints and operational performance should take into account when developing new research. These issues range from appropriate model conceptualization to operationalization for empirical studies. Recommendations for appropriately confronting methodological concerns related to these issues are provided.