Logistics alliance management capabilities: where are they?

Abstract

Purpose – Due to the continued high failure rate of logistics alliances, the purpose of this paper is to propose incorporating the widely neglected dynamic capabilities approach into the explanation of logistics alliance performance. Design/methodology/approach – The authors identify specific characteristics of logistics alliances that are used to argumentatively develop a framework of logistics alliance management capabilities. Findings – We propose an initial framework of logistics alliance management capabilities, based on the dynamic capabilities approach of strategic management, with the aim of improving logistics alliance success. Research limitations/implications – The presented framework offers a basis for a wider range of empirical studies. Qualitative researchers are encouraged to further specify and better understand the sub-processes that underlie logistics alliance management capabilities in different alliance settings. Quantitative studies could help to reliably assess the differences and performance implications of these capabilities. Practical implications – The authors ' conceptualization supports managers in their relevant strategic and organizational attempts to enhance logistics alliance success. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the logistics literature by making a more general yet established construct accessible to logistics scholars and practitioners. The roots of the authors ' logistics alliance management capabilities construct in dynamic capabilities provide a framework that is new and potentially more comprehensive than the collection of somewhat isolated alliance success factors that have hitherto been proposed in the logistics literature.