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Severe disruptions to maritime supply chains, including port closures, congestion and shortages in shipping capacity, have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper’s purpose is to explore flexibility-based countermeasures that enable actors in maritime supply chains to mitigate the effects of disruptions with different characteristics.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with shipping lines, shippers, forwarders and ports. Data on the COVID-19 pandemic's effects and countermeasures were collected and compared with data regarding the 2016–2017 Gothenburg port conflict.

Spatial, capacity, service and temporal flexibility emerged as the primary countermeasures, whilst important characteristics of disruptions were geographical spread, duration, uncertainty, criticality, the element of surprise and intensity. Spatial flexibility was exercised in both disruptions by switching to alternative ports. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring capacity flexibility included first removing and then adding vessels. Shipping lines exercising service flexibility prioritised certain cargo, which made the spot market uncertain and reduced flexibility for forwarders, importers and exporters that changed carriers or traffic modes. Experience with disruptions meant less surprise and better preparation for spatial flexibility.

Understanding how actors in maritime supply chains exercise flexibility-based countermeasures amid disruptions with different characteristics can support preparedness for coming disruptions.

Comparing flexibility-based measures in a pandemic versus port conflict provides insights into the important characteristics of disruptions and the relevance of mitigation strategies. The resilience of maritime supply chains, although underexamined compared with manufacturing supply chains, is essential for maintaining global supply chain flows.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify how activities may be coordinated within shippers’ organisations to enable high load factor (a key aspect of transport efficiency).

A multiple-case study involving three shippers was conducted, in which the logistics or transport managers of each company were interviewed. The cases were analysed according to which activities were coordinated to achieve high load factor, interdependencies between the activities, and the coordination mechanisms that shippers adopted.

A matrix is developed to show the differences in applying various coordination mechanisms in eight categories, according to intrafunctional or interfunctional coordination, sequential or reciprocal interdependencies, and the number of activities (dyadic or multiple). For example, coordination mechanisms aimed at exerting control are more suitable for intrafunctional than interfunctional interaction; interfunctional coordination relies more on mechanisms that aim to increase the understanding of transport-related issues among non-logistics activities.

The study is based on data from three Swedish companies.

Managers are provided with suggestions for coordinating activities when their goal is to improve load factor. These findings are of interest for reducing costs and emissions.

In response to suggestions in the earlier literature that shippers could improve their internal coordination to improve their load factor, this paper articulates several mechanisms for performing such coordination in eight situations.

There can be many negative effects from a disruption in a central node of companies' supply chains, such as a port conflict that reduces capacity. Strategies for disruption management include flexibility and redundancy. This paper aims to analyse a supply chain disruption from flexibility and capacity perspectives.

A case study was conducted of the supply chain disruption caused by the port conflict in 2016–2017 in Gothenburg, in which the port operated at a reduced capacity. Companies importing and exporting goods, freight forwarders, hauliers, train operators, ports, shipping companies and their agents were interviewed.

Various capacity problems (ports, links, container chassis, empty containers) were encountered due to the port conflict. Flexibility measures such as node, mode and fleet flexibility can be used in response to changes in capacity. Difficulties with applying flexibility are discussed.

Although based on a Swedish case, findings are relevant for disruptions or other types of disturbances in ports elsewhere and also in other important nodes in companies' supply chains.

Actors influenced by disturbances in a port can increase their understanding of potential capacity problems and flexibility measures. Readiness and timely action are important due to competition regarding capacity.

The implications on the transport network surrounding a port, including many actors, are explained, illustrating how capacity problems propagate, but there is some flexibility to manage the problems.

Informal street vending is traditionally widespread and studied concerning developing countries. Nevertheless, recently, interest in the study of this practice has also increased regarding specific developed countries. The aim of the article is to contribute to overcoming the tendency to investigate this informal economy sector with different analytical lenses between the global South and global North and to highlight the usefulness of analyzing the phenomenon from a comparative perspective.

Therefore, the article represents a comparative review of the existing literature on informal street vending considering both the global South and global North.

The analysis revealed similarities and differences in the characteristics the phenomenon assumes in the two areas of the world while at the same time, showing how there are aspects mainly explored in the literature of southern countries and little explored in the literature of northern countries and vice-versa.

This analytical attempt allows us to highlight any gaps present in the literature, which may represent the basis for future comparative research on the topic. Comparative research will improve both theoretical and empirical knowledge of the phenomenon.

On the one hand, the article represents an innovative literature review attempt, as it explicitly compares the street vending between developing and developed countries. On the other hand, it represents the first academic contribution to review street vending in the global North.

Despite fast-growing interest in research on political connections, most papers on this topic belong to the economics or public administration fields. Few studies, if any, look into the role of firmsʼ political connections in the Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition area. This paper attempts to bridge this gap by investigating the impact of political connections on the excessive profitability of DoD contractors. We find that, in contrast to what the “corruption hypothesis” predicts, the excessive profits are less (more) pronounced for those contractors with politically connected (non-connected) boards. Our findings suggest that those politically connected board directors may use their experience to serve a benevolent role to the public in keeping DoD contractors from opportunistic profitseeking behaviors that could reach or even cross the federal governmentʼs regulatory redline.

The issue of empty truck trips is largely ignored in the current literature. In order to cover this important research gap, the purpose of this paper is to explore, describe, categorize and rank the potential truck-sharing constraints for container trucks traveling empty around the port gates.

In order to contribute empirically to the current body of knowledge and understandings of truck-sharing constraints, this paper adopts a multi-method empirical approach involving both qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaire surveys.

Among many key constraints that influence the future of truck-sharing opportunities, the authors determine, for example, that a carrier’s ability to earn the trust of its competitors is one of the top most important factors of success for a fruitful truck-sharing event. The problem is, perhaps, further complicated because of the increasing competitive environment in the container transport industry, as well as the lack of effective coordination between the key parties involved.

None of the earlier studies has provided a broad understanding and ranking of the truck-sharing constraints that should be considered in truck-sharing events, although the empty trips issue has been limitedly mentioned in the recent academic literature.

Empty truck trips are wasted miles. Wasted empty miles decrease transport capacity in the container distribution chain along with causing an increase in carbon emission, traffic congestion, fuel consumption and environmental pollution. The research results can be used by policy makers to underpin effective measures to prevent the low utilization of trucks.

This study addresses an important gap. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in the area that ranks truck-sharing constraints to reduce empty trucks trips.

This article explores how waste collection venture founders in an uncertain sub-Saharan African environment perceive and access resources. More particularly, it investigates why, even in a similar context, different types of resource-mobilizing practices can be observed among venture founders and how these different practices can be related to founders’ diverging perceptions of resource accessibility.

The study compares seven waste collection ventures in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, a particularly uncertain market with shifting public regulation. The comparative case study analysis relies on interviews with venture founders, staff members and sector experts, as well as observations and archival data.

The findings suggest that the diverse approaches to resource accessibility can be associated with different ways in which venture founders perceive three key dimensions: environmental uncertainty (which is not necessarily seen as negative), the venture’s mission (for-profit or not-for-profit) and the founders’ self-perceptions. Three “perception-practice” patterns are identified, which illuminate different avenues for waste collection venture founders to access resources and position themselves in between local traditions and international influences.

The findings contribute to refining the understanding of the links between entrepreneurial perceptions and resource access in uncertain environments, and further illuminate the diversity and complexity of entrepreneurial approaches in sub-Saharan Africa.

The findings of this paper may help waste management entrepreneurs better leverage resources and deal with uncertainty. Moreover, the paper includes recommendations to public authorities in charge of waste policy at the local, national and international levels, urging them to take the diversity of entrepreneurial approaches into consideration and formulate tailored policies to support waste entrepreneurs in accessing the resources they need.

Informing the diversity of waste management practices and their effectiveness directly contributes to supporting small venture development and dealing with pollution, thereby addressing, respectively, sustainable development goals 8 (“Economic development and growth”) and 15 (“Life on land”).

As entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa remains relatively underexplored in comparison with Western contexts, in particular from the perspective of entrepreneurial perceptions, the originality of this article is to connect resource access practices with the different perceptions unfolding in a similar context, thereby shedding light on how such diversity informs the understanding of entrepreneurial practices in uncertain contexts.

A long controversial issue that divides academics, government officials, elected representatives, and the U.S. defense industry is whether defense contractors earn abnormal or excessive profits at the expense of taxpayers. Using an innovative industry-year-size matched measure of excessive profit, we demonstrate three findings. First, when compared with their industry peers, defense contractors earn excessive profits. This result is evident when profit is measured by Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Common Equity (ROCE), and Profit Margin Ratio (PMR). The evidence of excessive profit is less consistent if profit is measured by Operating Margin Ratio (OMR). Secondly, defense contractorsʼ excessive profit is more pronounced after 1992, consistent with the conjecture that the post-1992 significant industry consolidation enabled superior profitability due to both the improved bargaining power and increased political influence of the newly combined firms. Finally, defense contractorsʼ excessive profitability increases with poorer corporate governance, as measured by the duality of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chairman of the Board.

Although there is emerging an understanding that many entrepreneurs conduct some or all of their transactions off‐the‐books, there has so far been little attempt to consider what can and should be done about entrepreneurship in the informal economy. The purpose of this paper is to bridge this gap.

Following a review of what is known about the prevalence and nature of informal entrepreneurship, this paper evaluates what can and should be done about informal entrepreneurs by analyzing the various policy options and their implications.

Evaluating the possible policy approaches of doing nothing, eradication, de‐regulation and facilitating formalisation, the finding is that doing nothing leaves intact the existing negative impacts on formal and informal businesses, customers and governments, whilst eradicating informal entrepreneurship results in governments stamping out precisely the entrepreneurship and enterprise culture that they wish to nurture, and de‐regulation results in a levelling down rather than up of working conditions. Only facilitating the formalisation of informal entrepreneurship is found to be a viable policy approach. How this might be achieved is then considered.

More research is required on the hurdles informal entrepreneurs witness when seeking to legitimize their business ventures in different populations before it can be known whether specific policy measures to facilitate formalisation are appropriate.

This paper evaluates various public policy options for tackling informal entrepreneurship and their impacts.

This is one of the first evaluations of the policy options available for tackling informal entrepreneurship.