Evidence of bullwhip effect in healthcare sector: causes, consequences and cures

Abstract

The primary issue explored in this research is how demand distortions, called the ‘bullwhip’ effect, create inefficiencies for firms in the service industries. Much of the prior research has focused on documenting the existence of bullwhip effect in a number of manufacturing situations and more recently, authors have posited possible causes and cures for this phenomenon. To our knowledge, there has not been any published research that has investigated the existence of bullwhip effect in service settings. In this paper, we demonstrate the existence of bullwhip effect in the healthcare sector through case studies. We also discuss the possible effects and propose corrective actions.