Search results

The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of opportunities involved in horizontal cooperation in disaster relief logistics. The potential and realized benefits of horizontal cooperation in disaster relief logistics, as well as related impediments are investigated.

Case study research into three cooperative humanitarian organization initiatives.

To a large extent, the same potential synergies exist in the humanitarian as in the private sector, but not all of the potential benefits have yet been realized. Humanitarian organizations focus less on cost aspects than on lead‐time and quality improvements. It is apparent that smaller organizations can benefit most from a cooperative approach. Four main impediments to a cooperative approach are identified. These concern: the perception of logistics as one of the organization's own core competences, cultural differences and mutual mistrust, a lack of transparency regarding the potential and existing benefits and inadequate relief capacities.

Research on horizontal cooperation in logistics is strengthened. A service provider model is selected as the mode of horizontal cooperation and the findings are valid only for this model.

The presented benefits may be of assistance to humanitarian organizations assessing participation in a cooperation initiative. The indicated impediments may also serve as a guide for humanitarian organizations in horizontal cooperation considerations.

Research on horizontal cooperation in logistics is scarce in both the private sector and the humanitarian domain. It appears that no other rigorous and systematic empirical study comparing existing logistics cooperation initiatives exists as yet.

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the motives, structure and performance attributes of horizontal cooperations between logistics service providers (LSPs). Based on an analytical classification model, distinctive types of logistics cooperation that characterize the logistics landscape are identified.

Empirical data were collected on horizontal LSP cooperations from managers of German LSPs. Different uni‐ and multi‐variate statistical methods including ANOVA and cluster analysis were applied to the dataset of 226 cooperations for a total of 6,081 involved parties.

Horizontal cooperations with other LSPs are an organizational form used by 57 percent of LSPs. Cooperation decisions are substantially driven by external market objectives. Six distinctive types of cooperation are identified. They reveal the dominance of multi‐lateral and international networks that are mainly based on contractual agreements. There is a clear preference for partners with similar market competencies and for strong functional integration. Despite its inherent complexity, performance of these cooperations is high – its less than 19 percent failure rate makes these cooperations substantially more stable than cooperations within manufacturing industries.

This study is limited to an exploratory, descriptive approach in providing a sound understanding of the cooperation landscape.

The findings contribute transparency to horizontal LSP cooperations and a common understanding of their idiosyncrasies. The conclusions help logistics managers to position themselves better within the cooperation landscape. Further, the analyses offer managers a conceptual classification of horizontal LSP cooperations and some guidance on how to structure their individual LSP cooperations more successfully.

This paper is the first empirical study that defines the types of cooperation that comprise the logistics cooperation landscape. The analysis integrates a holistic perspective of their contractual, organizational, functional, geographical, service and resource scope and matches them with underlying motives and performance attributes.

The purpose of this article is to provide academicians and practitioners alike with a theory-based framework regarding horizontal collaboration in logistics. The proposed tool is based on an incremental perspective, according to two main dimensions: mutual trust among partners and the extent of the cooperation.

This study used a “synthesising” approach to gauge potential contributions previously spread across different streams of research and disciplines that are now integrated into the framework. We conduct a deep literature review to characterise the horizontal collaboration phenomenon along two levels of analysis. In doing so, we examined relevant literature in the field of horizontal cooperation in logistics to critically appraise aims of, impediments to and existing models for horizontal collaboration. Additionally, we reviewed seminal literature of four organisational theories to assess their potential to contribute to the theoretical foundations of the growing topic of horizontal collaboration. Transaction Cost Economics, Social Exchange, Resource Dependence and Social Dilemma represent the theoretical foundations to cast light to how to design and implement inter-organisational horizontal initiatives.

The proposed tool organises horizontal collaborations within three steps for each of the two levels of classification: trust and extent of the cooperation. The organisational theories reviewed play different roles to help in different stages of the horizontal collaboration. Additionally, for each combination of trust/extent of the cooperation coherent pairs of aims of the collaboration and assets that are to be shared are defined.

The article represents the first attempt to analyse horizontal collaboration from within the discipline itself and from the wider field of SCM through other well-established theoretical lenses. The proposed tool has shed some light into the black box of (un)successful horizontal collaboration, but it is theory based – which represents its main limitations – thus, requiring further testing of the research streams suggested in the paper.

The article not only gives insights into theoretical challenges of horizontal collaborations that needs further investigation but is also useful to companies involved in horizontal collaborations by helping define coherent assets that are to be shared to achieve specific goals. In its more theoretical underpinning, the framework can also inspire the partnership philosophy and help sketch a collaborative evolutionary path.

The lack of a theoretically robust landmark that could help understand, design and implement horizontal collaborations has been defined as a major theoretical and practical shortcoming. The article represents the first contribution aimed at filling that gap.

Against a broader global and regional shift toward “quality education for all,” the chapter explores education policy developments and trends related to teacher education and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. We examine how multilateral education policy circulation and regional horizontal cooperation has guided these education policy developments. The chapter is organized into three parts. It first provides a discussion of educational multilateralism and new forms of horizontal cooperation, as it relates to educational development efforts. We argue that these new forms of multilateralism and horizontal cooperation guide the development of policies that seek to enhance both educational equity and quality education, particularly through advancing teacher education and professional development. The second section explores several recent education policy trends that relate to teacher education and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the challenges that Ministries of Education face when designing and implementing programs of teacher education and professional development. Lastly, the chapter examines the role of regional organizations in promoting new forms of regional horizontal cooperation specific to teacher education and professional development, focusing on the example of Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN).

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.

Although the literature recognizes that coopetition plays a significant role in the success of international construction joint ventures (ICJVs), the impacts of coopetition on the performance outcomes of ICJVs remain largely unknown. This study extends this line of research by theorizing coopetition from three dimensions, i.e. coopetition intensity, coopetition balance and coopetition structure, and examining the relationships between coopetition and ICJV performance outcomes from both the contingency and configuration perspectives.

The hypotheses were tested using survey data from a sample of 188 ICJVs. Structural equation modelling was employed for the contingency approach to estimate the relationships between the three dimensions of coopetition and performance. For the configuration approach, cluster analysis was utilized to identify coopetition patterns. Subsequently, an analysis of variance was employed to analyse the relationships between these coopetition patterns and performance.

The contingency results indicate that while coopetition intensity is positively related to all types of performance, coopetition balance is only positively related to project performance and partner performance. Moreover, coopetition structure is only related to partner performance and socioenvironmental performance. The configuration approach identifies six patterns of coopetition, manifesting different levels of project, partner and socioenvironmental performance.

These findings, therefore, contribute to the ICJV literature by extending the understanding of how coopetition dimensions individually and jointly influence ICJV performance.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate significant impact of partner similarity on the success of horizontal alliances in logistics service providers (LSPs) from China.

Primary data were collected via questionnaire distribution to 380 Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors in 262 small and medium logistics enterprises in China. There are 316 valid questionnaires for further analysis with 83 percent accuracy in response rate. Structural equation modeling was used to test the impact of partner similarity on alliance management capability, stability and performance.

Partner similarity and logistics alliance management capability (LAMC) are positively correlated to alliance stability and performance in horizontal alliances among Chinese LSPs, especially competence similarity and cultural similarity. Moreover, alliance stability mediates the impact of partner similarity and LAMC on alliance performance.

The basic limitation of this research is to collect data just from small and medium logistics enterprises that operate in China with sample size (n=316). This research could further be extended to other regions in China or other countries.

This research verifies the positive relationship between partner fit and management capability. Besides, based on research findings, the research proposes guidelines for LSPs pursuing horizontal alliances

This research proposes an experimental model for Chinese LSPs to cooperate successfully and build horizontal alliances in order to increase their effective customer response capability.

As a disruptive technology, blockchain technology brings new opportunities and challenges to operations management. We aim to examine the influences of blockchain cooperation project announcements (BCPAs) on firms’ stock market reactions in an emerging market. From 2016 to 2021, a total of 113 BCPAs of listed firms from the Chinese A-share market are selected as samples.

This study is based on the loose coupling theory and uses the event study method and probit regression analysis.

We find BCPAs positively affect the firm’s stock price on the day they are released. Compared with vertical BCPAs in a supply chain, horizontal BCPAs exert a more positive market reaction. Moreover, a BCPA with a partner within a shorter geographical distance exerts a more positive influence on market reaction. Contrary to the intuition of the decentralized blockchain feature that one-to-many cooperation leads to better benefits, one-to-one BCPAs exert a more positive effect on market reaction than one-to-many BCPAs. We further find that (1) industry type has a certain impact on cooperation mode selection, and (2) manufacturing firms are more inclined to choose one-to-one cooperation than those in service industry.

We focus on the impact of blockchain cooperative announcements and additionally use the probit regression models to analyze the influencing factors of cooperation mode selection and find the critical role of the industry type, which complements the existing empirical research on blockchain announcements and is conducive to provide decision-making reference for managers.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of formulation categories (parent brand and extension product) and research and development (R&D) cooperation types on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) volume for extension products.

This study uses data from 109 extension products in the Korean dessert market whose formulations were changed between 1 February 2014 and 19 February 2019. The formulation categories and R&D cooperation types are transformed into dummy variables to conduct a linear regression.

The formulation categories and R&D cooperation types play key roles in proliferating eWOM for formulation change products. The most effective way to proliferate eWOM is through product extension by changing the formulation of ice cream, beverage and snack category products. Furthermore, vertical R&D cooperation positively affects the proliferation of products' eWOM.

These findings contribute to increasing the chance of successful food product development by providing information on the formulation changes that are effective at inducing consumers' interest.

To provide empirical evidence on the level of savings that can be attained by joint route planning and how these savings depend on specific market characteristics.

Joint route planning is a measure that companies can take to decrease the costs of their distribution activities. Essentially, this can either be achieved through horizontal cooperation or through outsourcing distribution to a logistics service provider. The synergy value is defined as the difference between distribution costs in the original situation where all entities perform their orders individually, and the costs of a system where all orders are collected and route schemes are set up simultaneously to exploit economies of scale. This paper provides estimates of synergy values, both in a constructed benchmark case and in a number of real‐world cases.

It turns out that synergy values of 30 per cent are achievable. Furthermore, intuition is developed on how the synergy values depend on characteristics of the distribution problem under consideration.

The developed intuition on the nature of synergy values can help practitioners to find suitable combinations of distribution systems, since synergy values can quickly be assessed based on the characteristics of the distribution problem, without solving large and difficult vehicle routing problems.

This paper addresses a major impediment to horizontal cooperation: estimating operational savings upfront.