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The United States Air Force often provides effective airlift for cargo distribution, but is at times inefficient. This paper aims to address the under-utilization of military airlift cargo compartments that plagues the airlift system.

The authors examine seven techniques designed to increase cargo compartment utilization and increase airlift utilization rates. The techniques were applied through load planning software to 30 real-world movements consisting of 159 sorties. They then ran each post-technique movement through a modeled flight environment to obtain cycle movement data. The metrics gained from both the load planning software and the modeled environment were regressed to provide statistical understanding regarding how well each technique influenced cost savings.

The results showed a 24 per cent elimination of aircraft required and a savings of $14.5m. Extrapolation of the authors’ findings to four years of airlift mission data revealed an estimated annual savings of $1.6bn.

This research effort provides multiple options to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of military airlift.

To investigate the influence of logistics and transportation workers’ perceptions of their management’s simultaneous safety and operations focus (or lack thereof) on related worker safety and operational perceptions and behaviors.

This multi-method research consisted of two studies. Study 1 aimed to establish correlational relationships by evaluating the impact of individual-level worker perceptions of operationally focused routines (as a moderator) on the relationship between worker perceptions of safety-related routines and workers’ self-reported safety and in-role operational behaviors using a survey. Study 2 aimed to establish causal relationships by evaluating the same conceptual relationships in a behavioral-type experiment utilizing vehicle simulators. After receiving one of four pre-task briefings, participants completed a driving task scenario in a driving simulator.

In Study 1, the relationship between perceived safety focus and safety behavior/in-role operational behavior was strengthened at higher levels of perceived operations focus. In Study 2, participants who received the balanced pre-task briefing committed significantly fewer safety violations than the other 3 treatment groups. However, in-role driving deviations were not impacted as hypothesized.

This research is conducted at the individual (worker) level of analysis to capture the little-known perspectives of logistics and transportation workers and explore the influence of balanced safety and operational routines from a more micro perspective, thus contributing to a deeper understanding of how balanced routines might influence worker behavior when conducting dynamic tasks to ensure safe, effective outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of the ongoing freight market deregulation in the European Union (EU). Specifically, this case study focuses on cabotage penetration rates in Germany, the largest logistics market in Europe. In light of the upcoming trade barriers, we intend to move this topic forward by emphasising its interdisciplinary nature.

Based on the analysis of Eurostat data, expert interviews and a review of related literature, we elaborate and discuss four propositions related to the factors affecting cabotage penetration, future cabotage levels and the effects on modal split and empty runs.

We found that cabotage in Germany plays a more important role than officially reported and has increased drastically since 2008. Given our analysis, increased cabotage penetration seems to thwart efforts within the EU to promote a modal shift from road to rail and increased national empty runs are the future outcome of current regulations. In Germany, the cabotage share is likely to reach 16% in the next five years.

This paper highlights the need for incorporating a more contextual understanding in freight carrier selection theory development in general as well as country-specific investigations in particular.

Logistics managers and policymakers looking at future strategies are advised to take the ongoing deregulation trend into consideration. European freight movement using cabotage operators may represent significant cost savings; however, these cost savings come at an environmental and social sustainability price as the modal shift to rail and fill rates suffer.

This paper represents an empirical and unbiased point of view, in contrast to the reports of the European Commission (pro-deregulation) or the reports of the haulage associations and labour unions (anti-deregulation).

The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the relationship between learning culture, workforce level, human capital and operational performance in two diverse supply chain populations, aircraft maintenance and logistics readiness.

Drawing upon competence-based view of the firm and human capital theory, this paper analyzes data from two studies.

The results provide support for the hypothesized model. Workforce level moderates the relationship between learning culture and human capital, and human capital partially mediates the relationship between learning culture and operational performance.

The findings have implications for behavioral supply chain management research and implications for educating and training the supply chain management workforce. While the populations represent a diverse set of logistics functions and responsibilities, the participants are all military members, which may limit generalizability.

This study should help leaders understand the importance of learning culture and the perceived differences in its effect on human capital based upon workforce level.

This research is among the first to investigate the role of workforce level and answers a multitude of calls for research into the human side of supply chain management.

The purpose of this paper is to provide future researchers with a framework for conducting research in the unique field of humanitarian logistics.

The authors categorized humanitarian logistics research articles. Borrowing from the theory of constraints and management information systems literature, the authors developed a framework for research.

The review of humanitarian logistics literature indicates that researchers have begun to lay the foundation for a core body of knowledge. While there is a growing body of research in humanitarian logistics, it is predominately focused on the area of planning.

This effort categorizes past research using elements of logistics, develops a framework for research in humanitarian logistics, and recommends areas for further research.

The purpose of this study is to examine the complex relationships between transformational leadership, organizational innovativeness, and motor carrier performance.

A covariance‐based structural equation model was developed, tested and validated to explain the effect of leadership style and innovativeness on motor carrier performance. The authors’ hypotheses were tested using responses from 158 North American motor carriers.

The results support a direct as well as an indirect positive relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance. Through the theoretical lens of dynamic capabilities theory, the results indicate that leaders motivate organizational change based on their own idiosyncrasies and perceptions of the environment.

This research was limited by its focus on the motor carrier industry and may limit the generalizability of the findings. While the sample of motor carriers was selected at random, the individuals within each of the organizations were purposively selected based on their positions.

The results indicate that the proactive leader who makes calculated changes is likely to chart a course towards enhanced organizational innovativeness and performance that may provide the firm with a sustained competitive advantage.

This is one of the few works investigating leadership style and innovativeness in the motor carrier industry.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a data analysis method of choice for many empirical supply chain management (SCM) researchers. As the statistical technique has evolved, so have its applications and reporting guidelines. Consequently, there has been a lack of standardized reporting across the SCM literature. The purpose of this paper is to provide a basis for standardizing reporting conventions.

This paper presents a review of recent SEM methods literature. In addition, the authors content analyze articles from International Journal of Logistics Management, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, and Journal of Business Logistics that contained either covariance-based or partial least square structural equation models. Using the aforementioned literature review and content analysis, the authors compare and contrast what is currently reported in extant supply chain literature with suggested reporting protocols in the methods literature.

Based on the review and analysis, the authors suggest standardized reporting conventions for the use of SEM in SCM research. In addition, the findings suggest that much more could and should be reported with respect to the decision as to which SEM technique to employ.

This paper can serve as a useful checklist and set of references for scholars publishing SEM research in supply chain journals.

A comprehensive evaluation of the constructs that contribute to the incorporation of a supply chain innovation into an organization is markedly absent in the literature. Even in academic fields where the post‐adoption diffusion stages of acceptance, routinization, and assimilation are often investigated, no study integrates these constructs and their constituent dimensions into a unified framework. In addition, these post‐adoption activities are largely ignored in the supply chain innovation literature. This paper aims to integrate extant literature regarding acceptance, routinization, and assimilation for the purpose of clarifying the definitions and identifying the dimensions of each construct to provide guidance to scholars who are investigating innovation diffusion in the supply chain.

Through the lens of diffusion of innovation theory, a broad base of literature both within and beyond the scope of traditional supply chain management (SCM) journals is considered to develop a unified framework of post‐adoption activities.

This research effort provides an in‐depth analysis of the post‐adoption stages of the organizational diffusion process and suggests 17 activities that support diffusion. Relationships between and within these stages of the process are inferred to create a unified framework of post‐adoption activities.

The resultant framework provides a reference point for future research. Although providing motivation for this study, this research is limited by the fact that few studies in the SCM literature consider organizational diffusion beyond adoption. The proposed framework is contingent on generalizing literature from related academic disciplines. Future SCM research can validate these findings and further tailor the framework to be more specific to supply chain applications.

This article provides insight for supply chain professionals who seek to not just adopt, but also to fully embed a newly acquired innovation into their organization. Managers can use this article's resulting framework as a reference to determine what actions they should take to fully incorporate an innovation.

Although recognized as an important area of investigation in other literature streams, post‐adoption activities are almost entirely overlooked in SCM research. This study provides both the motivation and a starting point for scholars to consider such activities.

Knowledge management capabilities have proven to be key success factors for organizations within our increasingly information-based economy. Although knowledge management literature has a rich history, less is known about how an organization’s learning culture affects outcomes realized via knowledge management initiatives. Moreover, there is a dearth of understanding regarding how to successfully operationalize knowledge management activities in order to achieve performance in the dynamic logistics and supply chain management environment. Rooted in competence-based theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role that learning culture plays with regard to knowledge management capabilities, human capital, and organizational performance at logistics service providers.

This study uses survey data from 448 managers and covariance based structural equation modeling to assess how knowledge management, learning culture, and human capital influence organizational performance.

The results of this study indicate that knowledge management has a significant positive relationship with learning culture and human capital. There was also an indirect effect of knowledge management through learning culture on human capital and organizational performance. Interestingly, human capital did not have a significant relationship with organizational performance as hypothesized.

The results support the vital role that leaders and managers have in creating a culture that is conducive to the success of knowledge management initiatives.

This study goes beyond the simple direct relationship between knowledge management and personal and organizational outcomes that is usually examined by testing learning culture as an important mediator.