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Strategic planning isn't just about making up a to‐do list Here's a planning process that can transform an organization's culture.

This study examines the relationships among trust, commitment, logistics outsourcing relationship quality (LORQ), relationship satisfaction, strategy alignment and logistics performance considering selected manufacturing firms in a developing country, Uganda.

Drawing on insights from the commitment-trust theory and strategy alignment literature, and using a cross-sectional survey design with a self-administered questionnaire, and applying the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to analyze quantifiable data obtained from managers of 103 manufacturing firms in Uganda outsourcing logistics operations, the study examined the logistics performance effects of trust, through commitment, LORQ and relationship satisfaction.

The study findings reveal that trust influences logistics performance, indirectly through its effects on commitment, LORQ and relationship satisfaction, sequentially, and that the positive effects of relationship satisfaction on logistics performance strengthen with improvements in LORQ. Strategy alignment exerted a strong positive influence on LORQ.

The study findings have important implications for theory development and literature. The study applies the commitment-trust view to both theoretically and empirically examine logistics outsourcing as a competitive strategy to enhance logistics performance, and thereby providing a theoretical base for future research. However, this research is confined to manufacturing firms in Uganda, and the results are not necessarily generalizable to other contexts.

The study findings provide insights for logistics managers regarding the role of trust, commitment, LORQ, relationship satisfaction and strategy alignment in enabling successful logistics outsourcing relationships, and how drawing on these, managers can improve firm logistics performance.

This study contributes to logistics management literature by empirically examining the relationship of trust, commitment, LORQ, relationship satisfaction and strategy alignment with logistics performance, considering manufacturing firms in a developing country, where these aspects have not been largely explored before. It highlights the need to build trust, promote greater commitment of logistics user firms in logistics outsourcing relationships as well as aligning logistics outsourcing strategies to improve LORQ and enhance logistics performance. Additionally, the study provides for the first-time new evidence for the moderation effect of LORQ on the influence of relationship satisfaction on logistics performance. The study findings suggest advancing further scholarly discussions on logistics outsourcing as a critical strategy to enhance firm logistics performance within a developing country context. Due to limitations in logistics infrastructure, and existing low-level technologies, logistics in developing countries still revolves around conventional materials handling, packaging, inventory and transportation operations, and logistics outsourcing is new, thereby presenting an interesting research context for empirical investigations on logistics in general, and logistics outsourcing in particular.

The purpose of this paper is to explore building information modeling (BIM) implementation and practices in developed economies by developing a benchmarking model that will enhance BIM adoption and implementation in developing countries.

The research design adopted a qualitative approach which includes the desktop review of the extant literature as well as case study reviews of ten BIM projects using an explanatory case study technique to form the foundation upon which the study proposed the model. The moving basis heuristics technique was adopted to develop the scoring system.

The BIM benchmarking model and assessment template were developed which consisted of three-level concepts modeled to aid project organizations and project team in developing countries to assess and score the level of improvement and implementation of BIM in a project. A desktop review of BIM projects in developed countries demonstrated the significant improvements and benefits possible through the implementation of the established BIM benchmarking model.

The assessment template in conjunction with the benchmarking model is useful for a comparative evaluation of similar BIM projects and benchmarking purposes. The study also discussed how current findings extends and contradicts previous findings.

The findings have provided policymakers, construction stakeholders and professional bodies in the construction industry in developing countries with valuable insights and counter-intuitive perspective that could facilitate the uptake of BIM in construction projects.

This paper aims to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the trade of goods and services in Spain.

This paper uses monthly trade data at the product, region and firm level.

The COVID-19 crisis has led to the sharpest collapse in the Spanish trade of goods and services in recent decades. The containment measures adopted to arrest the spread of the virus have caused an especially intense fall of trade in services. The large share of transport equipment, capital goods, products that are consumed outdoors (i.e., outdoor goods) and tourism in Spanish exports has made the COVID-19 trade crisis more intense in Spain than in the rest of the European Union.

The nature of the collapse suggests that trade in goods can recover swiftly when the health crisis ends. However, COVID-19 may have a long-term negative impact on the trade of services that rely on the movement of people.

It contributes to understand how COVID-19 has affected the trade in goods and services in Spain.