Simulating market effects on boundedly rational agents in control of the dynamic dispatching of actors in network-based operations

This work investigates the effect of market structure on the performance of actors who dispatch resources in network-based organizations. As digital tracking of these actors increases in scope and specificity, it is becoming feasible to extract computational models of dispatcher decision making which can be used to simulate market influences on these decisions. This work presents (1) a method for extracting computational decision models from transaction data and (2) a sensitivity analysis of the effect of market design (i.e., payment structure) and predictability of dispatcher decisions on system performance. The approach is illustrated for the case of a recent debris removal mission following extensive tornadoes in Alabama in 2011 which involved daily dispatching of an average of 28 hauling vehicles to an average of 6 work locations in the region of interest. Results of model validation against these historical tracking data are presented, along with implications for future work.