Abstract
Purpose
Transport is the European Union (EU) sector that produces the second highest amount of greenhouse gas emissions. In its attempts to promote the environmentally sustainable development of transport, the EU has focussed on intermodal transport in particular – but with limited success. It is important to understand how freight transport is selected, which criteria are used and what role environmental sustainability and intermodal transport play in the selection. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the role of environmental sustainability and intermodal transport in transport mode decisions. The authors look at this issue from the perspective of logistics service providers (LSPs) and buyers, as they are important stakeholders in guiding this process.
Design/methodology/approach
To gain a holistic view of the current state of research, the authors have conducted a systematic literature review of the role of environmental sustainability and intermodal transport in transport mode decisions. The authors have further examined the findings concerning requests for quotations (RfQs), tenders and transport contracts, as these are also linked to decisions on transport choice.
Findings
The findings from the literature review include the results of descriptive and structured content analysis of the selected articles. They show that the discussion on environmental sustainability and intermodal transport as a sustainable mode, together with the transport mode selection criteria, RfQs/tenders and transport contracts, is still a rather new and emerging topic in the literature. The main focus related to the selection of transport mode has been on utility and cost efficiency, and only recently have issues such as environmental sustainability and intermodal transport started to gain greater attention. The findings also indicate that the theoretical lenses most typically used have been preference models and total cost theories, although the theoretical base has recently become more diversified.
Research limitations/implications
There is still a need to extend the theoretical and methodological base, which could then lead to innovative theory building and testing. Such diverse application of methodologies will help in understanding how environmental sustainability can be better linked to mode choice decisions.
Practical implications
The findings will be of interest to policy makers and companies opting for environmentally sustainable transport solutions.
Social implications
If the EU, shippers and LSPs take a more active stance in promoting environmentally sustainable transformation models, this will have long-lasting societal impacts.
Originality/value
It seems that this systematic literature review of the topic is one of the first such attempts in the current body of literature.
Subject
Management of Technology and Innovation,Transportation
Reference37 articles.
1. Making connections: a review of supply chain management and sustainability literature;Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,2012
2. Influence from the business environment on environmental purchasing – drivers and hinders of purchasing green transportation services;Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management,2011
3. Is a new applied transportation research field emerging? - A review of intermodal rail - truck freight transport literature;Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice,2004
4. Where do we go from here? Progressing sustainability implementation efforts across supply chains;Journal of Business Logistics,2013
Cited by
74 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献