Market orientation, employee development practices, and performance in logistics service provider firms

Although the utilization of logistics service provider firms is growing exponentially in business-to-business markets, little is known about what enables some of these firms to perform better than others. Building on the resource-based view of the firm, this research proposes that market orientation and certain employee development practices (service-related training, coaching, and empowerment) influence both employee and organizational performance. The hypotheses are tested using data from 123 large logistics service provider organizations. A multi-survey design was utilized wherein managers as well as the frontline service employees who interact directly with customers represented each organization. The findings suggest that (a) market orientation influences organizational and employee performance, (b) coaching moderates both links, (c) service-related training moderates the link with employee performance only, and (d) empowerment does not moderate either link.     

集群环境下生产制造型企业与第三方物流的协同决策研究

为了解决集群环境下生产制造型企业与第三方物流之间合理的收益分配与风险共担问题,提高协同企业系统的运行效果,在探析集群环境下双方在协同模式中的收益与风险关系基础上,提出了基于Shapley值的协同收益分配与风险分摊决策模型,分别探索了以物流成本与收益分配,物流成本与风险损失两对变量之间的波动变化规律,并将之集成计算得出了协同选择的临界点与取值范围,辅助参与企业决策,通过实证研究验证了收益分配曲线与风险量化曲线的正向相关性波动规律。结果表明:集群环境中的生产制造型企业与第三方物流的协同模式具有以市场需求为中心的组织特点,影响协同选择的风险因素主要有生产制造型企业和第三方物流的地位与作用、协同各方投入与贡献度随时间推移产生的变化、外部产业政策及内部自适应等;在协同过程中,各参与企业所获得的收益与承担的风险与所投入的物流成本之间存在着正相关关系,且存在着选择临界点;模型演算出的协同选择临界点,可保障协同模型的长期性与稳定性。研究结果为物流协同选择研究提供了新思路,对企业协同选择决策具有借鉴意义。     

Assessing performance factors for a 3PL in a value chain

Business continuity of the logistics companies in the twenty first century highly depends on the value chain performance. As the variety of services outsourced to third party logistics (3PL) companies increase, success strategies for these companies are to be revised. This study explores and illustrates an analytical framework to assess the performance factors for 3PL companies through a managerial view. The factors integrating the strategical and operational targets are evaluated within a framework based on four levels; performance targets, planning activities, logistics operations, and performance attributes of logistics operations. The analytic network process is used to determine the most effective performance attributes. The framework is applied and studied in two major logistics companies active in the South East Europe. The proposed framework will contribute to the logistics sector by demonstrating the paradigm shift in performance measurement.     

Technological capabilities and firm performance: The case of small manufacturing firms in Japan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between technological capabilities and firm performance. We divide technological capabilities into two types—refinement capability, which involves the improvement of the existing asset portfolio, and reconfiguration capability, which involves the restructuring of the asset portfolio through the integration of new assets. The results of an analysis of a sample of 302 small and medium-sized manufacturing firms in Japan suggest that refinement capability relates more positively to operational efficiency than does reconfiguration capability, and that reconfiguration capability relates more positively to strategic performance than does refinement capability. The results also suggest that firms with superior refinement capability tend to possess superior reconfiguration capability. Our findings show that both external and internal factors, such as technological volatility, inter-firm collaboration, and firm age and size, are significantly associated with the level of refinement and reconfiguration capabilities possessed by a firm.