Combinatorial clock-proxy exchange for carrier collaboration in less than truck load transportation

A carrier collaboration problem in less-than-truck load transportation is considered, where multiple carriers exchange their pickup and delivery requests in order to improve their operational efficiency. We extend the clock-proxy auction proposed by Ausubel et al. (2006) to a combinatorial clock-proxy exchange for the problem. This mechanism combines the price discovery of the clock exchange designed based on Lagrangian relaxation with the efficiency of the proxy exchange determined based on the information observed in the clock phase. Numerical experiments on randomly generated instances demonstrate the necessity of the proxy phase and the effectiveness of the clock-proxy exchange.     

Exploring the nature of stakeholder collaboration: a case study of marine turtle tourism in the Ningaloo region,Western Australia

This paper explores the nature of stakeholder collaboration as a practical issue in the case of turtle tourism in the Ningaloo region of Western Australia. While there is a wealth of literature that explores the theory and conceptual ideas of collaboration in tourism planning, there is a need to explore these theories in applied situations. In this case study, key stakeholders of the Ningaloo Turtle Advisory Group were identified using snowballing methods and the nature of collaboration between stakeholders was investigated through an examination of workshop dialogue and action research. A framework for exploring the nature of collaboration was developed based on Bramwell and Sharman's (1999) [Collaboration in local tourism policy making. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2), 392–415] criteria for measuring collaborative approaches and Mandell's (1999) [The impact of collaborative efforts: Changing the face of public policy through networks and network structures. Policy Studies Review, 16, 4–17] continuum of collaboration. This research confirms that the success of collaboration relies on building partnerships and trust, recognizing interdependence, generating a collective vision and objectives and commitment among stakeholders within a structured process. The appointment of an external convenor also played an important role in facilitating the process, while a programme coordinator was essential for implementing the objectives generated by stakeholders.     

Task selection and routing problems in collaborative truckload transportation

This paper introduces the task selection and routing problem in collaborative transportation in which a truckload carrier receives tasks from shippers and other partners and makes a selection between a private vehicle and an external carrier to serve each task. The objective is to minimize the variable and fixed costs for operating the private fleet plus the total costs charged by the external carrier. The mathematical formulation and the lower bound are established. A memetic algorithm is developed to solve the problem. The computational results show that the proposed algorithm is effective and efficient.     

A resource-based view of green supply management

Companies are being increasingly pressured to consider environmental concerns in their manufacturing activities and, more recently, with regard to their supply bases. Despite the broad range of literature that links performance to both green manufacturing capabilities such as pollution prevention and green supply management (GSM), managers are having difficulties developing a greener supply chain. The objective of this paper is to provide a model for development of GSM capabilities. Using the resource-based view of the firm (RBV) as the theoretical background, we postulate that plant resources are positively related to green manufacturing capabilities, which in turn are positively related to GSM capabilities. The data from a survey of a sample of manufacturing plants indicates that a managerial philosophy that includes external knowledge exchange directly supports both greener process management and environmental collaboration with suppliers. However, this managerial philosophy is only indirectly related to supplier selection and monitoring. The managerial implications of these findings are twofold: managers seeking to implement GSM need to view internal investment in green process management as a step toward environmental management of their external supply chains. They also must realize that green process management requires the support of other resources, such as environmental investments and top management commitment.     

Solutions to the request reassignment problem in collaborative carrier networks

The paper considers an arrangement for exchanging transportation requests to facilitate collaboration among independent carriers. The goal is to maximize the total profit without decreasing the individual profit of the carriers. Two solution approaches are developed for this problem involving decentralized control and auction based exchange mechanisms. The results are compared with those obtained without collaboration and by a centralized control. They indicate that horizontal collaboration pays off even in highly competitive environments.     

Fair profit contract for a carrier collaboration framework in a green hub network under soft time-windows: Dual lexicographic max–min approach

This paper models a novel and practical bi-objective hub-location problem under a centralized carrier collaboration framework between one holding company and multiple carriers. The holding company first establishes a hub-and-spoke network in order to locate p hubs and to assign the center nodes to the located hubs. Then, it allocates the transportation routes of the hub network to the carriers. In contrast, the carriers should select an appropriate vehicle type to serve the transportation requests in a green hub network. The carriers are also able to meet the transportation requests within a certain time-window based on a soft time-window mechanism. Moreover, aiming to emphasize green transportation, a vehicle emission model is used to take into account CO₂ emissions of the vehicles where the fuel consumption is a function of speed level. Aiming to identify a win–win deal between the holding company and the carriers, a dual lexicographic max–min (LMM) approach is used in order to optimize their profits in a fair way. Finally, some numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodology. The computational results show that not only the holding company and the carriers can better generate a fair profit contract among themselves using the LMM approach, but also both can obtain more profit in the worst case for their businesses rather than using the max–min approach. In addition, sensitivity analyses show that increasing the size of the soft time-window leads to a reduction in the delivery schedule violations, while results in raising the total profit. Moreover, the tax cost of fuel consumption as well as the number of potential vehicles has a substantial impact on both the fuel consumption and carrier’s profit.     

Carrier collaboration with endogenous networks: Or,the limits of what carrier collaboration can achieve under antitrust immunity

Airlines maintain complex networks that are to large extents complementary. Therefore, some passengers need to change aircraft and airlines to fly from their origin to their final destination. The present study captures pricing problems in terms of double marginalization but goes one step further by incorporating network choices. The model involves a two-stage game with two carriers who choose their complementary networks in the first stage and fares in the second stage. Each carrier's network involves one or two links that are distributed geographically or distributed in time. If both carriers maintain two links, then transfer passengers can choose between two alternative connections which they consider as imperfect substitutes. There are only transfer passengers, and maintaining a link is costly. The analysis reveals that carrier collaboration and antitrust immunity can eliminate double marginalization and create incentives to extend networks. Our results indicate that the scope for the improvement of carrier networks via antritrust immunity can be rather limited relative to the social desirability of more extensive carrier networks. A possible policy lesson is that airlines should be granted antitrust immunity conditional on network expansion and/or frequency obligations.     

Collaborative marketing for the sustainable development of community-based tourism enterprises: a reconciliation of diverse perspectives

ABSTRACT

Collaborative marketing for the sustainable development of community-based tourism enterprises (CBTEs) is subject to diverse stakeholder perspectives and a complex mix of factors determining collaboration success. This research investigates a framework supporting stakeholder collaborations in marketing CBTEs for sustainable development. The proposed framework is an outcome of the process of reconciling divergent perspectives in CBTE collaborative marketing using a knowledge co-production approach. Particularly, knowledge interactions between researchers and research participants to achieve a synthesis of perspectives in developing a collaborative marketing approach for the sustainable development of CBTEs in Vietnam were investigated. The knowledge interaction occurred in the form of a workshop that included 15 CBTE stakeholders and the first author and was undertaken in the village of Triem Tay (Vietnam). Through the workshop, a collaborative marketing framework for CBTE sustainability was identified. The framework stated the reasons for the divergence of perspectives on CBTE collaborative marketing for sustainable development: limited understanding of involved stakeholders; individuality in collective efforts; stakeholder self-righteousness; and contextual factors. Accordingly, the framework identified four attributes supporting stakeholders collaborations in marketing CBTEs for sustainable development: improved and right-directed perspectives of CBTE stakeholders; a set of rules governing stakeholder interventions; government involvement in CBTE collaborative marketing in the roles of an inspirer and an arbitrator; and the transformation from successful tour operators to social entrepreneurship to facilitate CBTE collaborative marketing. The contribution of this study lies in the potential of a knowledge co-production approach to be utilised in collaborative works involving multiple perspectives. Additionally, the study provides insights into the discussion of community-based tourism collaboration.     

A hedging policy for carriers’ selection under availability and demand uncertainty

We address a stochastic dynamic distribution problem where a family of products needs to be shipped from a warehouse to a distribution center (DC). Uncertainty is on carriers’ availability and demand at the DC. Internal, external and spot carriers must be optimally selected to minimize the expected discounted cost of transportation, inventories and shortages. We numerically prove that an optimal selection policy, SDMBSP, is based on three thresholds of the available inventory in the DC. A simulation model is proposed and proves the robustness of the SDMBSP and its outperformance over two other carrier selection policies.     

Cooperatives for fruits and vegetables in emerging countries: Rationalization and impact of decentralization

We develop a (noncooperative) game theoretic model for a decentralized setting wherein fringe farmers compete with a two-tier cooperative network involving network farmers and a coordinator. We examine the roles of the coordinator and profit sharing in allocating costs/benefits of externalities in enhancing network efficiency and stability. Our main finding is that using profit sharing based mechanism the coordinator can overcome inherent inefficiency and instability of decentralization and noncooperative behavior of the network farmers. The roles of the coordinator and profit sharing are particularly important when it is economical for both network and fringe farmers to supply the product.     

Freight train scheduling with elastic demand

A train slot selection model based on multicommodity network flow concepts is developed for determining freight train timetables for scheduling rail services along multiple interconnected routes. The model seeks to minimize operating costs incurred by carriers and delays incurred by shippers while ensuring that the schedules and demand levels are mutually consistent. A column generation-based methodology is proposed for train slot selection to meet frequency requirements. This methodology is embedded in a simulation-based iterative framework, where demand for rail services is re-computed in accordance with the train schedule obtained by solving the freight train scheduling problem.     

Port choice and freight forwarders

In light of the growing supply chain power of 3PLs and very limited empirical studies on port choice from the freight forwarders’ perspective, this paper tries to evaluate the major factors influencing port choice from the Southeast Asian freight forwarders’ perspective, their decision-making style and port selection process and draw out some policy implications for port operators and authorities. Efficiency is found to be the most important factor followed by shipping frequency, adequate infrastructure and location. Their selection process is complex and a two-stage process and supports the new approach that models ports within the framework of a supply chain.     

Multi-agency management of a World Heritage Site: Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area,China

Involving a variety of stakeholders, heritage tourism management requires a collaborative multi-actor approach. Due to the current grid management system, shared management among multiple agencies is not rare in heritage sites in China; however limited research has addressed this situation. A multi-agency management model is thus proposed to highlight the roles of a coordination agency and a collaboration mechanism. Taking Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area as an example, this paper compares the management status and assesses management collaboration between its two main management bodies. Semi-structured interviews with management staff are used as the primary research method. It is revealed that shared management has resulted in the inefficient use of human and financial resources, and inconsistency in the application of management measures and standards due to the lack of an efficient coordination agency and collaboration mechanism. Suggestions are made to facilitate collaboration and enhance management efficiency in this multi-agency management context.     

Applying deep learning models to twitter data to detect airport service quality

Measuring airport service quality (ASQ) is an important process for identifying shortages and suggesting improvements that guide management decisions. This research, introduces a general framework for measuring ASQ using passengers’ tweets about airports. The proposed framework considers tweets in any language, not just in English, to support ASQ evaluation in non-speaking English countries where passengers communicate with other languages. Accordingly, this work uses a large dataset that includes tweets in two languages (English and Arabic) and from four airports. Additionally, to extract passenger evaluations from tweets, our framework applies two different deep learning models (CNN and LSTM) and compares their results. The two models are trained with both general data and data from the aviation domain in order to clarify the effect of data type on model performance. Results show that better performance is achieved with the LSTM model when trained with domain specific data. This study has clear implications for researchers and airport managers aiming to use alternative methods to measure ASQ.     

Optimal inter-area coordination of train rescheduling decisions

Railway dispatchers reschedule trains in real-time in order to limit the propagation of disturbances and to regulate traffic in their respective dispatching areas by minimizing the deviation from the off-line timetable. However, the decisions taken in one area may influence the quality and even the feasibility of train schedules in the other areas. Regional control centers coordinate the dispatchers’ work for multiple areas in order to regulate traffic at the global level and to avoid situations of global infeasibility. Differently from the dispatcher problem, the coordination activity of regional control centers is still underinvestigated, even if this activity is a key factor for effective traffic management.This paper studies the problem of coordinating several dispatchers with the objective of driving their behavior towards globally optimal solutions. With our model, a coordinator may impose constraints at the border of each dispatching area. Each dispatcher must then schedule trains in its area by producing a locally feasible solution compliant with the border constraints imposed by the coordinator. The problem faced by the coordinator is therefore a bilevel programming problem in which the variables controlled by the coordinator are the border constraints. We demonstrate that the coordinator problem can be solved to optimality with a branch and bound procedure. The coordination algorithm has been tested on a large real railway network in the Netherlands with busy traffic conditions. Our experimental results show that a proven optimal solution is frequently found for various network divisions within computation times compatible with real-time operations.     

Green supply chain collaboration and incentives: Current trends and future directions

This editorial piece discusses the current trends and future research directions in green supply chain collaboration and incentives. The discussion begins with evolution of green supply chain collaborations and few contributions made so far. The editorial piece introduces the special issue papers which address the green collaboration challenges and offers a general green collaboration research framework suggesting pathways for future research. The article ends with the open research questions in green supply chain collaborations and incentives.     

Airport selection criteria of low-cost carriers: A fuzzy analytical hierarchy process

The selection of airport is an important consideration for low-cost carriers (LCCs) to remain cost competitive. The objective of this study is to identify and rank the airport selection criteria of LCCs. Based on reviewing the existing literature, five main factors comprising 16 sub-factors were developed. The factors were first validated by three industry experts from the aviation industry. Thereafter, a survey questionnaire requiring a comparison of the factors was administered on 28 executives who were involved in the strategy planning and formulation of LCCs based in China or Korea. The collected data were analysed using fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). In descending order of their importance, the main factors influencing LCCs' selection of airport are (1) airport charges, (2) airport performance, (3) airport growth opportunities, (4) catchment area and (5) airport infrastructure. The top three sub-factors are airport costs, demand for LCC services and passenger throughput. The research contributes to academic research by providing a holistic assessment of the key considerations influencing LCCs' selection of airport. In addition, it implicates policy formulation of LCCs by providing a framework for assessment of airports that are suitable for LCCs’ operations.     

The potential of horizontal collaboration in airport ground freight services

Since the global economic crisis of 2007–2011, the increasingly dynamic and challenging air cargo market in Europe has forced freight forwarders to improve their performance. In addition to improving their internal transport efficiency, they have also started to look at previously unexplored opportunities for horizontal collaboration in landside airport transport. The aim of this study is to reveal the potential of air cargo transport collaboration on a horizontal level, i.e. between multiple freight forwarders within a single airport. Reviewing existing literature on horizontal collaboration, with a focus on the air cargo industry, we propose a conceptual framework for transport collaboration in the air cargo industry. Based on a comprehensive study on air cargo transport movements within Schiphol, using a simulation model based on company data of 10,747 shipments (6977 tons of cargo) for a period of 30 days, we find several interesting results. Our main finding is that horizontal collaboration can improve the transport performance, by maintaining a high frequency of transport movements and maintaining an acceptable throughput time for air cargo shipments, and at the same time reduce transport costs by up to 40%. For smaller freight forwarders, the frequency of transport deliveries can even increase, while still allowing them to improve the average load factor of transport movements.     

Collaborative Tourism Planning: A Case Study of Cusco,Peru

This research examines issues concerning the collaborative approach towards tourism planning, with a focus on Cusco, Peru. The research begins with a review of key themes related to collaborative tourism planning, and then explores four issues in relation to collaborative tourism planning in Cusco. These are the vision of tourism development among tourism stakeholders; collaboration and coordination between the multiple parties involved in tourism; input from the tourism industry and other interest groups in tourism planning; and constraints to and facilitators of collaboration and coordination. The research indicates that despite an awareness of the benefits of collaboration in tourism planning generally, collaboration is not yet a major part of the tourism development process in Cusco. The main reasons for the lack of collaboration are outlined using the views of the main stakeholders, as well as suggestions for ways in which future collaboration can be developed.     

A less-than-truckload carrier collaboration planning problem under dynamic capacities

This paper addresses the deterministic dynamic single carrier collaboration problem for the small- to medium-sized less-than-truckload (LTL) industry. It is formulated as a binary (0–1) multi-commodity minimum cost flow problem and solved using a branch-and-cut algorithm. Its inherent network structure is exploited to generate the lower bounds to the branch-and-cut algorithm using the network simplex method and by relaxing the integrality constraints. Results from numerical experiments indicate inherent trade-offs at the higher degrees of collaboration between waiting for more affordable collaborative capacity and incurring higher holding costs. They also suggest that collaborating LTL carriers experience increased capacity utilization.