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By bringing together the IB and IE literatures, the purpose of this paper is to examine the internationalization process as an entrepreneurial process related to the development of international opportunities. It explicitly connects different types of knowledge (i.e. market and internationalization), international opportunities and the internationalization process comprising both new foreign market entry and sequential moves that happen after entry.

This is a conceptual paper that reviews the literature on knowledge, opportunities and the internationalization process. Moreover, the paper identifies the current gaps in the literature and builds new theory that sheds light into how these three concepts are related. The paper also presents a model and propositions that should guide future research.

The proposed model shows that market and internationalization knowledge combine to form the international knowledge stockpile of the firm, which moderates the relationship between the development of international opportunities and the internationalization process, comprising not only new foreign market entry but also sequential moves that happen after entry using either mode continuation or modal shift. Moreover, it shows that the development of opportunities only leads to modal shifts after a certain threshold is achieved.

The propositions suggest that market and internationalization knowledge are positively related to international opportunities, which, in turn, are related to foreign market entry and sequential moves using mode continuation. International opportunities, however, are related to modal shifts only beyond a threshold. Moreover, the international knowledge stockpile of the firm moderates the relationship between international opportunities and the internationalization process. Because this is a conceptual paper, the propositions have not been tested and, therefore, lack empirical validation. Nonetheless, the model is a starting point to new research on internationalization distinguishing different types of knowledge as well as different sequential moves.

This study shows that the internationalization process is contingent on the different types of knowledge associated with it. It also introduces the idea of a threshold that shapes the internationalization process. The bulk of the research on internationalization suggests that such a process is gradual and incremental. This study offers a non-linear alternative.

The purpose of this paper is to establish a conversation between international business and international entrepreneurship literatures by analyzing if and how international opportunities are related to the internationalization process of the firm.

This paper reports finding from a backward-looking longitudinal, qualitative, embedded case study of an internationalized Brazilian firm, covering all 13 foreign markets where the firm has operated over 18 years.

Modal shifts within foreign markets were rare. Over time, the firm learned how to refine, rather than change, the servicing modes within each foreign market; it also learned how to better develop internal and exploitative opportunities, manage a portfolio of servicing modes across foreign markets, and use more complex mode servicing packages. Overall, international opportunities and the internationalization process of the firm were inextricably connected.

The authors acknowledge limitations related to the statistical generalizability of the research method and suggest that statistical validation is needed as the research on opportunities and the internationalization process of the firm progresses.

Internationalizing firms should carefully consider the choice of entry mode in foreign markets. They should also understand that learning is not necessarily associated with change.

The authors show that the internationalization process of a traditional firm can be analyzed through an opportunity lens. This means associating characteristics of international opportunities with mode continuation and modal shifts in all foreign markets where the firm operates.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of South Africa’s national freight demand model and related logistics cost models, and to illustrate the application of the modelling outputs to inform macrologistics policy.

Spatially and sectorally disaggregated supply and demand data are developed using the input-output (I-O) model of the economy as a platform, augmented by actual data. Supply and demand interaction is translated into freight flows via a gravity model. The logistics costs model is a bottom-up aggregation of logistics-related costs for these freight flows.

South Africa’s logistics costs are higher than in developed countries. Road freight volumes constitute 80 per cent of long-distance corridor freight, while road transport contributes more than 80 per cent to the country’s transport costs. These challenges raise concerns regarding the competitiveness of international trade, as well as the impact of transport externalities. The case studies highlight that domestic logistics costs are the biggest cost contributor to international trade logistics costs and can be reduced through inter alia modal shift. Modal shift can be induced through the internalisation of freight externality costs. Results show that externality cost internalisation can eradicate the societal cost of freight transport in South Africa without increasing macroeconomic freight costs.

Systematic spatially disaggregated commodity-level data are limited. There is however a wealth of supply, demand and freight flow information collected by the public and private sector. Initiatives to create an appreciation of the intrinsic value of such information and to leverage data sources will improve freight demand modelling in emerging economies.

A spatially and sectorally disaggregated national freight demand model, and related logistics costs models, utilising actual and modelled data, balanced via the national I-O model, provides opportunities for increased accuracy of outputs and diverse application possibilities.

As of January 1, 2020, the upper limit of sulfur emissions outside emission control areas decreased from 3.5% to 0.5%. This paper aims to present some of the challenges associated with the implementation of the sulfur cap and investigates its possible side effects as regard the drive of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Even though it would appear that the two issues (desulfurization and decarbonization) are unrelated, it turns out that there are important cross-linkages between them, which have not been examined, at least by the regulators.

A literature review and a qualitative risk assessment of possible CO₂ contributors are presented first. A cost-benefit analysis is then conducted on a specific case study, so as to assess the financial, as well as the environmental impact of two main compliance choices, in terms of CO₂ and sulfur oxide.

From a financial perspective, the choice of a scrubber ranks better comparing to a marine gas oil (MGO) choice because of the price difference between MGO and heavy fuel oil. However, and under different price scenarios, the scrubber choice remains sustainable only for big vessels. It is noticed that small containerships cannot outweigh the capital cost of a scrubber investment and are more sensitive in different fuel price scenarios. From an environmental perspective, scrubber ranks better than MGO in the assessment of overall emissions.

Fuel price data in this paper was based on 2019 data. As this paper was being written, the COVID-19 pandemic created a significant upheaval in global trade flows, cargo demand and fuel prices. This made any attempt to perform even a rudimentary ex-post evaluation of the 2020 sulfur cap virtually impossible. Due to limited data, such an evaluation would be extremely difficult even under normal circumstances. This paper nevertheless made a brief analysis to investigate possible COVID-19 impacts.

The main implication is that the global sulfur cap will increase CO₂ emissions. In that sense, this should be factored in the IMO greenhouse gas discussion.

According to the knowledge of the authors, no analysis examining the impact of the 2020 sulfur cap on CO₂ emissions has yet been conducted in the scientific literature.

This study aims to explore the role of knowledge management practices in supporting current and emerging passengers’ and customer needs, aiming to create value. Specifically, the research examines the importance of customer-centred knowledge management in the delivery of innovative services and practices in the public transport sector, promoting the role of interactions between mobility stakeholders and travellers.

A theoretical framework is developed and supported by the background literature on customer-centric knowledge management approaches, business model innovation, as well as on inter-organisational and network co-operations.

Results show that the development of sustainable innovation and technologies in the transport sector requires knowledge management practices, which enable the access to knowledge about users’ needs, the mapping and evaluation of innovative knowledge, the promotion of knowledge-based innovation through collective approaches, as well as the acquisition and integration of new knowledge.

The conceptual framework developed in the paper remains limited to a theoretical understanding. Further research should empirically examine knowledge issues related to the intangible character and intellectual capital intensiveness of innovation in the transport sector.

Researchers, public transport companies and public transport authorities are expected to benefit from this research, by developing mechanisms for customer-centred knowledge management, which is found to lead to innovative services and practices in the public transport sector. Another practical implication regards the adoption of knowledge management practices, leading to technological innovations in public transport, and advancing the level of sustainability in transport systems.

The originality of this study lies in the development of a customer-focussed knowledge management framework, which provides a novel perspective of value creation in an attempt to engage researchers and practitioners from the transport industry in the conceptualisation and development of innovative solutions.

Today, the transport industry is facing increasing demands on reducing both the environmental impact and cost of freight transports. Another demand, coming from the end consumers, is the demand for ecological accountability, so‐called ecological foot‐printing, meaning that the emission of every freight movement is distributed to the freight. Previous research shows that transport planning, system integration and control are some of the key factors to achieve more sustainable transport setups. One of the major obstacles preventing these factors is the complexity of international supply chains, with several involved actors. Smart Freight is a holistic concept, integrating transport management and state‐of‐the‐art technologies for freight tracking and vehicle monitoring, in order to enable improved management and accountability of freight transportation. The purpose of this research is to explore how Smart Freight can be used to control, track and reduce the environmental impact of goods transportation. This research is based on two in‐depth case studies and a demonstration prototype of one of the studied transport setups. An extensive amount of data was collected between 2006 and 2008 through interviews, video filming, document studies, physical travel with the freight flows, seminars, prototype building, literature and desktop studies. The result of this research highlights the weaknesses in today’s control of transport operations and presents a model for how Smart Freight enables a more environmentally friendly and accountable transport system.

A commonly suggested measure to make logistics greener is a shift to intermodal road‐rail transportation. Most research addresses the issue from the carrier's perspective, arguing for ways to improve the service production to better fit the shippers' demand. In this article the issue is addressed from the shipper's perspective. The purpose is to understand what contextual factors and operations changes that are possible and/or necessary for the shipper to make a fit to the current production system.

Six case companies selling non‐bulk, fast moving goods are examined. These firms have gone against the mainstream and shifted modes of transport. They are investigated through a multiple case‐study design.

The findings indicate that contextual factors stressed in the carrier‐focused literature, or rule of thumb decisions made by shipping logistics management, do not always clearly predict the success of a modal shift. However, some common denominators emerge among successful cases: large transport purchasing resources, high general carrier performance, low demand volatility, and centralized system control. The study also poses some propositions regarding the success of a modal shift.

The research is qualitative in nature and thus limited to the companies and their respective logistics systems. However, the models could be further evaluated empirically through quantitative and qualitative methods alike.

The paper poses a number of propositions of what constitutes a successful modal shift from a shipper's perspective, based on the identified factors and operational changes.

Previous research on the shift to intermodal road‐rail solutions are predominantly made from a carrier's perspective. This research addresses the issue from the shipper's perspective.