Simulating compliance behaviour for effective inspection strategies using agent based modelling

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to simulate compliance behaviour of entrepreneurs in<br/>the Netherlands based on the Table of Eleven: 11 factors determining compliance (based on economic,<br/>cognitive, social and institutional factors).<br/>Design/methodology/approach – An Agent-Based Model (ABM) was developed that could<br/>incorporate both individual and group behaviour and allowed to evaluate the effect of various<br/>intervention strategies. For this purpose, a case study on the compliance of pig farmers with antibiotics<br/>legislation in the Netherlands was used.<br/>Findings – The effect of social factors (acceptance of legislation and social influence) on compliance<br/>levels was tested as well as the number of inspectors. This showed that the model can help to choose<br/>the most optimal intervention strategy depending on the input parameters.<br/>Research limitations/implications – Further expansion of the model may be necessary, e.g.<br/>including economic factors, in order to reflect real-life situations more closely.<br/>Practical implications – The model can be used by inspection services to effectively implement<br/>their control programme.<br/>Originality/value – The developed ABM is a first attempt to simulate compliance behaviour and as<br/>such contributes to the current limited knowledge on effective intervention strategies.<br/>Keywords Compliance, Food safety, Agent-based modelling, Inspection strategy<br/>Paper type Research pape