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When final customer demand exceeds available supply, retailers often hedge against shortages by inflating orders to their suppliers. While this amplification in orders is clearly described in the literature, there is little experimental research quantifying the factors influencing these amplifications. We use an experiment to test subjects’ ordering decisions under different ordering and supplier's capacity acquisition delays. Subjects in the experiment display limited ability to process the impact of delays and feedback. The order trajectories follow a pattern of overshoot and subsequent undershoot until reaching an equilibrium. However, the initial overshoot is less intense and lasts longer than the optimal behavior, when subjects face longer delays. In addition, subjects inflate their orders when the supplier faces longer capacity acquisition delays and when orders take longer to be perceived by the supplier. Econometric estimates show that the proposed anchoring and adjustment heuristic is a possible heuristic for explaining subjects’ ordering behavior. Copyright © 2015 System Dynamics Society

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to employ concepts drawn from communication theory to develop a structural model that it is hoped will improve the understanding of the impact of effective communication mechanisms on the performance of humanitarian organizations. Design/methodology/approach The research is based on a case study of a single humanitarian organization. The authors designed a cross-sectional study, collecting data using structured questionnaires and interviews. Structural equation modeling was used to test and estimate the model. Findings Estimations show that the proper design of internal manuals and procedure guidelines, coupled with formal strategies to foster stakeholder dialogue in organizations and increase the perceived performance of humanitarian programs. Practical implications The paper discusses the importance of designing effective communication strategies that permit humanitarian organizations to use their communication channels properly and improve operations based on lessons learned and the concerns of stakeholders. Originality/value This paper builds on the foundations provided by communication theory to develop a model that explains how communication affects performance in humanitarian organizations. The study further builds on a case study to test the theoretical model.

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