Search results

The study aims to develop an organizational culture typology and explore how different logistics service provider (LSP) and customer archetypes interact to generate performance improvements in logistics outsourcing relationships.

A multiple case study approach with 12 dyads was employed. Interviews as well as public and internal data from LSPs and customers were analyzed.

The results reveal four archetypes each for LSPs and customers, characterized by two dimensions: “activeness” and “openness”. Furthermore, analyzing the interaction among the archetypes, three relationship patterns are identified (“static”, “restrained”, and “progressive”) that differ in the exploratory and exploitative improvement outcomes.

The study contributes to theory development at the intersection of organizational culture and logistics outsourcing.

The study provides a typology of organizational culture in logistics outsourcing and how different archetypes interact to generate improvements.

This paper aims to investigate the role of upper management in designing performance measurement systems (PMS) that account for external turbulence of the organization and to show how this PMS design for turbulence impacts organizational resilience and distribution service performance.

Hypotheses are developed by integrating management accounting and strategic management perspectives into supply chain management and subsequently tested based on data from 431 logistics organizations (i.e. both logistics companies and internal logistics departments of manufacturing and retailing companies).

Attention focusing usage type of the PMS by the upper management fosters incorporating the element of risk into the PMS of the company. Further, PMS design for turbulence enhances organizational resilience, and, indirectly, this also leads to improved distribution service performance.

This paper is the first to introduce the concept of PMS design for turbulence to the literature and to show that it is relevant for supply chain risk management by fostering the capabilities and the performance of logistics organizations. Further, it is shown that a seemingly detached issue such as the general PMS use focus of the upper management impacts supply chain risk management.

The purpose of this paper is to advance supply chain management by describing the current state of behavioral supply chain management (BSCM) research and paving the way for future contributions by developing a meta-theory for this important field.

The results are generated by applying the systematic literature review methodology and an iterative theory-building approach involving a panel of academics.

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the BSCM research landscape. Additionally, a meta-theory of BSCM is presented that encompasses all central elements of the research field and introduces the concept of emergence to the field of BSCM. Furthermore, five promising future research opportunities are formulated.

The critical discussions and the formulated research opportunities will help scholars in positioning their research to enhance its contribution.

Results from this research indicate that supply chain decisions benefit from explicit consideration for cognitive and social phenomena.

This review is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of the field of BSCM research and facilitates BSCM in advancing further.

This research focuses on the role of customer behavior in service outsourcing relationships that are governed by outcome-oriented contracts. The purpose of this paper is to explain how non-collaborative customer behavior impedes the effectiveness of outcome-oriented contracts to align the goals and incentives of the customer and service provider, and leads to service provider opportunism.

Nine hypotheses are developed regarding customer behavior and the reaction of the service provider to this. These are tested using structural equation modeling with data from 213 service outsourcing relationships.

Outcome-orientated contracts in service outsourcing may have unintended consequences because they create value attribution ambiguity. This ambiguity induces non-collaborative customer behavior, which, in turn, results in service provider opportunism. This reveals a paradox, where customer behavior aimed at curbing service provider opportunism instead induces such opportunism. This chain of effects can be counteracted by increased outcome attributability, which reduces the ambiguity and, thus, the motivation for non-collaborative customer behavior.

This research extends the existing literature by stressing that non-collaborative customer behavior is a key reason why outcome-oriented contracts fail in effectively governing outsourcing relationships, and that this can be counteracted by increased outcome attributability.

The rapid advancement of digital technologies has fundamentally changed the competitive dynamics of the logistics service industry and forced incumbent logistics service providers (LSPs) to digitalize. As many LSPs still struggle in advancing their digital transformation (DT), the purpose of this study is to discover barriers and identify organizational elements and associated leading practices for DT success at LSPs.

This study utilizes a two-stage approach. Stage 1 is devoted to a literature review. Stage 2, based on multiple case studies, analyzes information collected across nine international and global LSPs.

This research derives a practice-based definition of DT in the logistics service industry, and it has identified five barriers, eight success factors and associated leading practices for DT. The main obstacles LSPs struggle with, are the complexity of the logistics network and lack of resources, while the main success factor is a leader having and executing a DT vision, and creating a supportive organizational culture.

The results contribute to the emerging field of DT within the logistics and supply chain management literature and provide insights for practitioners regarding how to effectively implement it in a complex industry.

The authors analyze DT from the perspective of LSPs, traditionally not viewed as innovative companies. This study compares their DT with that of other companies.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into commonalities and differences of service innovation across industries. The compared sectors are logistics service providers and IT service providers (SPs).

Data were collected from 778 SPs via an online survey. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the empirical data.

Both types of SPs benefit from close customer relations in terms of innovativeness and customer satisfaction. However, ITSPs rely more on a large number of customers to be innovative than logistics service providers (LSPs), further, LSPs can evoke a higher level of customer satisfaction when being innovative.

Empirical data were collected in a single country (Germany) and at one point in time. A confirmation of the results in different service settings is therefore encouraged.

The results help managers with regard to their strategic decisions. The differentiating effects influencing innovativeness and customer satisfaction have been revealed.

The research is extended by developing a model based on the knowledge of service innovation, social exchange theory and industry characteristics and by empirically testing this model.

Horizontal cooperations of logistics service providers (LSPs) have become important for LSPs within the last decades. Owing to the high complexity of these cooperations as observed by Schmoltzi and Wallenburg, the potential for conflict is inherent. This research, therefore, aims to investigate how nature (dysfunctional vs functional) and extent of conflict impact the outcome of these cooperations. Further, the roles of formal and relational governance mechanisms in influencing conflict are analyzed.

The research is empirical in nature and employs a theory-driven, confirmatory approach. It utilizes large-scale survey data of German LSPs, which are analyzed using multivariate statistical methods.

The research shows that governance mechanisms impact the extent and functionality of conflict: relational governance lowers the extent of conflict and leads to higher functionality of conflicts, while formal governance increases the extent of conflict. Moreover, it is shown that conflicts decrease the overall cooperation performance, whereas – when functional in nature – they have a positive impact on the innovativeness of cooperations.

The impact of governance on conflicts and of conflicts on outcome may differ depending on the cultural and country-specific setting.

The results allow mangers of LSP cooperations to adapt their set of applied governance mechanisms and conflict resolution approaches with regard to the improvement of cooperation performance and cooperation innovation.

This is the first study that analyzes conflict and conflict resolution in horizontal LSP cooperations and shows their interrelation with both governance and performance.

The purpose of this research is to explore the resilience domain, which is important in the field of supply chain management; it investigates the effects relational competencies have for resilience and the effect resilience, in turn, has on a supply chain ' s customer value.

The research is empirical in nature and employs a confirmatory approach that builds on the relational view as a primary theoretical foundation. It utilizes survey data collected from manufacturing firms from three countries, which is analyzed using structural equation modeling.

It is found that communicative and cooperative relationships have a positive effect on resilience, while integration does not have a significant effect. It is also found that improved resilience, obtained by investing in agility and robustness, enhances a supply chain ' s customer value.

Some findings contrast the expectations derived from theory. Particularly, practitioners can learn that integration has a limited role in enhancing resilience.

The study distinguishes between a proactive and reactive dimension of resilience: robustness and agility. The relational view serves as the theoretical basis to explain the effects between three types of relational competencies (communication, cooperation, and integration) and the above-mentioned two dimensions of resilience.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a sound basis to facilitate further research on innovation management at logistics service providers (LSPs).

Content analysis of extant literature was undertaken and supplemented by conceptual deliberations.

Future LSP‐specific innovation research should be undertaken. While comparatively much knowledge on innovation management by LSPs does already exist, it is hardly integrated. More comprehensive studies of LSPs' innovation processes and systems are required.

The review is limited to articles written in English and published in academic journals from 1999 to mid‐2009. This research should be supplemented by empirical research, in particular case studies.

LSPs can compare their own innovation management concepts to the body of scientific knowledge presented here. As long as research does not take their specific context into account, LSPs are required to adapt more general concepts to their needs.

This paper outlines theoretical features of a research stream on innovation management at LSPs. It integrates previous findings on LSPs' innovation management in a suitable framework, and it proposes an agenda for future research.

The purpose of this paper is to identify contingencies that are inherently linked to sustainability and that influence its implementation in companies. Further, to identify which coordination mechanisms (organic or mechanistic) are most effective for the implementation on the corporate and on the functional level.

Inductive case-study based upon a cross-industry sample of five cases that applies a contingency approach. The case companies differ with respect to the degree of sustainability implementation, the underlying internal coordination and structural factors like ownership, size, and industry.

The data revealed six contingency factors inherent to the implementation of sustainability that influence the effectiveness of organic or mechanistic coordination mechanisms according to the specific implementation context. Further, the implementation of corporate sustainability requires more internal coordination than implementing sustainability on the functional level.

The identified contingencies relevant for the internal coordination to implement sustainability and insights into the relevance of such coordination provide a sound basis for future research. Further, various research avenues are identified to advance the discipline's understanding of this so far under-researched field.

This paper shows that a one-size-fits-all approach to sustainability implementation is not effective. Rather, companies need to consider specific contingencies and adapt their internal coordination efforts accordingly.

This paper is the first to address internal coordination for implementing sustainability on the corporate and functional level. By providing insights on the context-specific effectiveness of different types of internal coordination for the implementation of corporate sustainability, sustainable sourcing, and sustainable marketing it provides a contribution to both academia and industry practice.