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The purpose of this study is to examine how humanitarian organisation size affects inter-organisational coordination and further tested the mediating role of organisational innovativeness, self-organisation in the relationship between humanitarian organisation size and inter-organisational coordination among humanitarian organisations in Uganda.

The study is based on cross-sectional survey; data was collected from 101 humanitarian organisations. The analysis of the proposed hypotheses was done with the help of PLS-SEM using SmartPLS version 3.3.0 for professionals.

The results show that humanitarian organisation size significantly relates with inter-organisational coordination. In addition, self-organisation and organisational innovativeness play a complementary role between humanitarian organisation size and inter-organisational coordination.

The findings of this research provide useful insights into the role of humanitarian organisation size in boosting inter-organisational coordination in humanitarian relief delivery. High levels of self-organisation and organisational innovativeness not only improve inter-organisational coordination in humanitarian relief delivery but also enhance the transformation of humanitarian organisation size benefits into inter-organisational coordination.

This research is one of the few studies that investigated the effect of humanitarian organisation size and inter-organisational coordination. It also brings into the limelight the mediating role of self-organisation and organisational innovativeness between humanitarian organisation size and inter-organisational ordination in humanitarian relief delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of cloud computing (CC) use on collaboration and its ultimate impact on the agility of humanitarian supply chains. Further, this paper aims to analyze the moderating role of inter-organizational trust in the relationship between CC use and collaboration.

This paper provides an empirical assessment of CC use based on an interview analysis of 19 individuals from humanitarian organizations. A survey questionnaire is later used with 107 participants from US relief organizations. Partial least squares test is used to examine the relationships depicted in the conceptual model.

The results provide an account of how CC is used in a humanitarian context. Further, the results indicate that CC use has a positive and significant impact on collaboration between humanitarian organizations and their suppliers. Collaboration is found to be significantly positively associated with agility in humanitarian organizations.

No study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, has empirically assessed the impact of CC use on humanitarian supply chain collaboration. This will be the first study to empirically analyze the relationships between CC use, inter-organizational trust, collaboration and agility in a humanitarian context.

This study provides a theoretically and empirically validated model depicting the relationships between CC use, collaboration, agility and inter-organizational trust in humanitarian supply chains. Humanitarian organizations can use these findings to optimize agility.

This study contributes to supply chain management research, particularly humanitarian supply chain management knowledge, by empirically examining the usefulness of CC use on collaboration and agility in the supply chain.

Fleet management is a key function in humanitarian organizations, but is not always recognized as such. This results in poor performance and negative impacts on the organization. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrates how the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) managed to substantially improve its fleet management through the introduction of an Internal Leasing Program (ILP), in which headquarters procures vehicles and leases them to field offices.

This paper develops a framework for fleet management based on a longitudinal case study with UNHCR. It compares fleet performance indicators before and after implementation of an ILP.

At UNHCR, vehicle procurement was driven by availability of funding. Fleet management was highly decentralized and field offices had limited awareness of its importance. These systems and behaviors led to major challenges for the organization. The introduction of the ILP positively impacted fleet management at UNHCR by reducing fleet size, average age of fleet and procurement costs.

This paper provides fleet managers with a tool for analyzing their fleet. The frameworks and actions described in this paper contain practical recommendations for achieving a well-performing fleet.

This paper is the first to analyze fleet management before and after introduction of an ILP. It describes the benefits of this model based on empirical data, and develops frameworks to be used by researchers and practitioners.

Organisations involved in relief delivery tend to have cross-boundary mandates, which cause ambiguity of roles during delivery of relief services to the targeted victims. Having no clear role, specialisation affects service timeliness and increases resource duplication among the relief organisations. The objective of this study is to understand how organisational networks and organisational learning as complex adaptive system metaphors improve both organisational adaptability and role clarity in humanitarian logistics.

Using ordinary partial least squares regression through SmartPLS version 3.3.3, the authors tested the study hypotheses basing on survey data collected from 315 respondents who were selected randomly to complete a self-administered questionnaire from 101 humanitarian organisations. Common method bias (CMB) associated with surveys was minimised by implementing both procedural and post statistics methods.

The results indicate that organisational networks and organisational learning have a significant influence on organisational adaptability and role clarity. The results also show that organisational adaptability partially mediates in the relationship between organisational networks, organisational learning and role clarity.

The major limitation of the study is that the authors have used cross-sectional data to test this research hypotheses. However, this was minimised following Guide and Ketokivi's (2015) recommendation on how to address the limitations of cross-sectional data or the use of longitudinal data that can address CMB and endogeneity problems.

Managers in humanitarian organisations can use the authors’ framework to understand, first, how complex adaptive system competence can be used to create organisational adaptability and, second, how organisational adaptability can help organisational networks and organisational learning in improving role clarity among humanitarian organisations by collaboratively working together.

This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge in humanitarian logistics and supply chain management by empirically testing the anecdotal and conceptual evidence. The findings may be useful to managers who are contemplating the use of organisational networks, organisational learning and organisational adaptability to improve role clarity in disaster relief-related activities.

To coordinate humanitarian organisations with different mandates that flock the scenes of disasters to save lives and respond to varied needs arising from the increased number of victims is not easy. Therefore, the level at which organisations self-organise, network and adapt to the dynamic operational environment may be related to inter-organisational coordination. The authors studied self-organisation, organisational networks and adaptability as important and often overlooked organisational factors hypothesised to be related to inter-organisational coordination in the context of humanitarian organisations.

The study’s sample consisted of 101 humanitarian organisations with 315 respondents. To decrease the problem of common method variance, the authors split the samples within each humanitarian organisation into two subsamples: one subsample was used for the measurement of self-organisation, organisational network and adaptability, while the other was for the measurement of inter-organisational coordination.

The partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis using SmartPLS 3.2.8 indicated that self-organisation is related to inter-organisational coordination. Organisational network and adaptability were found to be mediators for the relationship between self-organisation and inter-organisational coordination and all combined accounted for 57.8% variance in inter-organisational coordination.

The study was cross sectional, hence imposing a limitation on changes in perceptions over time. Perhaps, a longitudinal study in future is desirable. Data were collected only from humanitarian organisations that had delivered relief to refugees in the stated camps by 2018. Above all, this study considered self-organisation, adaptability and organisational networks in the explanation of inter-organisational coordination, although there are other factors that could still be explored.

A potential implication is that humanitarian organisations which need to coordinate with others in emergency situations may need to examine their ability to self-organise, network and adapt.

Social transformation is a function of active social entities that cannot work in isolation. Hence, for each to be able to make a contribution to meaningful social change, there is need to develop organisational networks with sister organisations so as to secure rare resources that facilitate change efforts coupled with the ability to reorganise themselves and adapt to changing environmental circumstances.

The paper examines (1) the extent to which self-organisation, adaptability and organisational networks influence inter-organisational coordination; (2) the mediating role of both adaptability and organisational networks between self-organisation and inter-organisational coordination in the context of humanitarian organisations against the backdrop of complex adaptive system (CAS) theory.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the underlying issues of humanitarian disaster relief logistics in order to provide an understanding of the challenges facing humanitarian organisations in a wider context.

The paper takes a qualitative approach, adopting a two‐dimensional multi‐strategy research design, culminating in a model of theoretical understanding.

The results suggest that operational issues encountered in humanitarian logistics are symptomatic of wider issues affecting humanitarian organisations. In understanding this, challenges were identified that, if overcome, could make for more effective relief missions.

In terms of implications, this paper provides an opportunity for further research, including the testing of the suggested model against an extended sample size which could include senior managers of humanitarian organisations (involved in strategising), and United Nations representative(s).

The research raises an awareness of the characteristics of humanitarian organisations that may well be acting as barriers to greater effectiveness and efficiency.

Rather than maintaining an operational focus throughout, the scope and nature of this study provide an insight into humanitarian organisations that allows for a deeper level of understanding to be gained in terms of their characteristics, which broadens the context against which the ensuing discussions/arguments can prevail. The resultant model provides a catalyst for further research and discussion.

The purpose of this study was to establish whether self-organisation and its components matter for supply chain agility in the context of humanitarian relief operations in a developing country, Uganda.

This study adopted a cross-sectional design to collect data from a sample of 101 humanitarian organisations (HOs) that deliver relief to Bidi-Bidi refugee settlement in Uganda.

Based on the findings, self-organisation explains 56% of the variance in supply chain agility.

Since the study was cross-sectional, changes in the perception of the subject matter could not be established. Hence, a longitudinal approach was recommended for subsequent studies. Data was collected only from HOs that deliver relief services in Bidi-Bidi refugee settlement.

It is recommended that managers of HOs should ensure that their organisations have flexible, adaptive structures that can affect self-organisation during emergencies so as to increase the speed with which they respond to victims' needs.

This study generates significant empirical evidence on a less studied phenomenon in the humanitarian sector. It vividly highlights the effect of self-organisation on building supply chain agility.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the potential of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities to commercial logistics service providers (LSPs) throughout the different disaster phases. The authors identify incentives for initiating outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities to commercial logistics providers, humanitarian logistics activities to be outsourced and selection criteria for partners.

This study is based on empirical data collected by interviewing 12 practitioners from commercial LSPs and 12 practitioners from humanitarian organizations (HOs). A review of related literature guided this research.

This research shows that incentives for initiating outsourcing engagements, partner selection criteria and activities to be outsourced are changing throughout the different disaster phases. A number of research propositions are presented.

This research constitutes a first step towards the goal of a comprehensive analysis of humanitarian logistics outsourcing throughout the different disaster phases. The authors collected data from practitioners and large organizations based mainly in Europe and the USA. Hence, insights from national and local organizations of other parts of the world are missing.

This research provides a deeper understanding of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities. As the main implication for practice, the research suggests a strategic use of outsourcing during the three disaster phases. The authors acknowledge that business objectives, risks, stakeholder agendas and requirements, as well as costs play a vital and changing role for outsourcing decision-making during the three disaster stages. The managerial implications arising from the research can provide support to commercial LSPs and HOs that initiate or develop strategic outsourcing relationships.

This study covers the gap in the humanitarian literature related to context-specific factors of outsourcing in humanitarian logistics by empirically investigating the phenomenon. This is one of the first studies that empirically investigate the potential of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities throughout the disaster phases.

The purpose of this paper is to employ concepts drawn from communication theory to develop a structural model that it is hoped will improve the understanding of the impact of effective communication mechanisms on the performance of humanitarian organizations.

The research is based on a case study of a single humanitarian organization. The authors designed a cross-sectional study, collecting data using structured questionnaires and interviews. Structural equation modeling was used to test and estimate the model.

Estimations show that the proper design of internal manuals and procedure guidelines, coupled with formal strategies to foster stakeholder dialogue in organizations and increase the perceived performance of humanitarian programs.

The paper discusses the importance of designing effective communication strategies that permit humanitarian organizations to use their communication channels properly and improve operations based on lessons learned and the concerns of stakeholders.

This paper builds on the foundations provided by communication theory to develop a model that explains how communication affects performance in humanitarian organizations. The study further builds on a case study to test the theoretical model.

Both the military and non-military organizations (NMO) bring assets, skills, and capabilities to a humanitarian crisis, however, their capabilities and competencies are very diverse. Identification of the specific competencies and capabilities that are core to these types of organizations can enable better planning by both military and NMOs, allowing them to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency in the humanitarian response. The purpose of this paper is to explore the core capabilities of the military and NMOs engaged in humanitarian operations.

The work builds on existing literature on the core competency of the corporation. The authors extend the concept of the ability to identify, cultivate, and exploit the core capabilities in the private sector to the organizations that want to respond efficiently and effectively to disasters. The authors develop a core competencies test for such organizations.

The research identifies the competencies and capabilities that are core to the US military and NMOs for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. By identifying such abilities the authors establish a vein of research for exploring the role of such organizations to facilitate greater understanding among academics, policy makers, and decision makers in public administration, public health, and international aid.

Existing literature in humanitarian logistics does not adequately address identification of those competencies and capabilities that are core to the military organizations and NMOs and are most needed during the operational life cycle of a humanitarian crisis. In addition to identifying them, the authors compare the core capabilities of the military and NMO.