Mitigating interorganizational conflicts in humanitarian logistics collaboration: the roles of contractual agreements, trust and post-disaster environmental uncertainty phases

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Prakash ◽  
Vivek Roy ◽  
Parikshit Charan
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Environmental Uncertainty ◽  
Recovery Phase ◽  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Response Phase ◽  
Contractual Agreements ◽  
Humanitarian Setting ◽  
Contractual Agreement

PurposeGovernance is the key to establishing effective collaboration among humanitarian logistics partners addressing an ongoing relief work. With a focus on humanitarian interorganizational collaboration, this research draws on governance theories to investigate how conflicts can be mitigated in this challenging setting.Design/methodology/approachThe focus on governance extends attention to the frontiers of contractual agreement, trust and environmental uncertainty to be applied in the humanitarian setting. To develop perspectives, an online survey of 289 field executives working in humanitarian organizations across the globe is conducted. The findings are based on hierarchical regressions.FindingsEnvironmental uncertainty, in humanitarian logistics, is not straightforward, but wields distinctive challenges in the response phase (immediate to the disaster) as well as the recovery phase (beginning of build back) – to loom prospects of conflict between partners. Findings outline that contractual agreement can increase conflict during the response phase (high environmental uncertainty), but mitigate it during the recovery phase (low environmental uncertainty). Furthermore, contractual agreement interactively strengthens the ability of trust to reduce conflict. Yet, trust acting alone shows best outcome to mitigate conflict.Research limitations/implicationsContrary to the established understanding in traditional logistics suggesting the vitality of contracts to easily mitigate challenges posed by environmental uncertainty, the humanitarian setting extends a unique outset for interorganizational governance based on the temporality of response and recovery phases.Originality/valueThis research pioneers to quantitatively examine the setting of humanitarian logistics based on survey. Given the difficulty of data acquisition, the extant research has largely relied on qualitative investigations when considering the agenda of governance.

Literature review of humanitarian logistics research: trends and challenges

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Leiras ◽  
Irineu de Brito Jr ◽  
Eduardo Queiroz Peres ◽  
Tábata Rejane Bertazzo ◽  
Hugo Tsugunobu Yoshida Yoshizaki
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Recovery Phase ◽  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Set Up

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review of humanitarian logistics (HL) that aims to identify trends and suggest some directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper develops a research framework for literature review through qualitative and quantitative content analysis. First, previous literature reviews in HL are updated and detailed. Then, seven classification criteria are added to earlier ones in order to advance the literature analysis. Findings – The conclusions identify some literature gaps and research opportunities. The main conclusions are the need for more studies into the disaster recovery phase and the need for closer relationships between academia and humanitarian organizations to increase the number of applied research. Research limitations/implications – The literature is limited to academic peer-reviewed journals because of their academic relevance, accessibility, and ease of searching. Practical implications – Help potential researchers to set up a research agenda for future work. Social implications – Reinforce earlier calls to increase truly applied research and improve social impact of the field. Originality/value – In total, 228 papers that were published in the HL area are reviewed, giving rise to the most extensive literature review in this area. New dimensions for literature review in HL are proposed, which give some new insights into potential research directions.

An automated quantitative content analysis process for humanitarian logistics research

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Kunz
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Quantitative Content Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Analysis Process ◽  
Quantitative Content

Purpose Access to high-quality data is a challenge for humanitarian logistics researchers. However, humanitarian organizations publish large quantities of documents for various stakeholders. Researchers can use these as secondary data, but interpreting big volumes of text is time consuming. The purpose of this paper is to present an automated quantitative content analysis (AQCA) approach that allows researchers to analyze such documents quickly and reliably. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis is a method to facilitate a systematic description of documents. This paper builds on an existing content analysis method, to which it adds automated steps for processing large quantities of documents. It also presents different measures for quantifying the content of documents. Findings The AQCA approach has been applied successfully in four papers. For example, it can identify the main theme in a document, categorize documents along different dimensions, or compare the use of a theme in different documents. This paper also identifies several limitations of content analysis in the field of humanitarian logistics research and suggests ways to mitigate them. Research limitations/implications The AQCA approach does not provide an exhaustive qualitative analysis of documents. Instead, it aims to analyze documents quickly and reliably to extract the contents’ quantifiable aspects. Originality/value Although content analysis has been used in humanitarian logistics research before, no paper has yet proposed an automated, step-by-step approach that researchers can use. It also is the first study to discuss specific limitations of content analysis in the context of humanitarian logistics.

scholarly journals Outsourcing of humanitarian logistics to commercial logistics service providers

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioanna Falagara Sigala ◽  
Tina Wakolbinger
Keyword(s):  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Logistics Service ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Logistics Service Providers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Context Specific

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the potential of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities to commercial logistics service providers (LSPs) throughout the different disaster phases. The authors identify incentives for initiating outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities to commercial logistics providers, humanitarian logistics activities to be outsourced and selection criteria for partners. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on empirical data collected by interviewing 12 practitioners from commercial LSPs and 12 practitioners from humanitarian organizations (HOs). A review of related literature guided this research. Findings This research shows that incentives for initiating outsourcing engagements, partner selection criteria and activities to be outsourced are changing throughout the different disaster phases. A number of research propositions are presented. Research limitations/implications This research constitutes a first step towards the goal of a comprehensive analysis of humanitarian logistics outsourcing throughout the different disaster phases. The authors collected data from practitioners and large organizations based mainly in Europe and the USA. Hence, insights from national and local organizations of other parts of the world are missing. Practical implications This research provides a deeper understanding of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities. As the main implication for practice, the research suggests a strategic use of outsourcing during the three disaster phases. The authors acknowledge that business objectives, risks, stakeholder agendas and requirements, as well as costs play a vital and changing role for outsourcing decision-making during the three disaster stages. The managerial implications arising from the research can provide support to commercial LSPs and HOs that initiate or develop strategic outsourcing relationships. Originality/value This study covers the gap in the humanitarian literature related to context-specific factors of outsourcing in humanitarian logistics by empirically investigating the phenomenon. This is one of the first studies that empirically investigate the potential of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities throughout the disaster phases.

The influence of brokers on networking behaviour during internationalization: a study of Czech SMEs

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohit Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Environmental Uncertainty ◽  
International Market ◽  
Regression Method ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Coordinator

Purpose Under given environmental uncertainties, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of brokers on the networking behaviour of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) and the subsequent impact on the performance of SMEs. The following five different types of brokers were tested, namely, coordinator, representative, cosmopolitan, liaison and gatekeeper brokers. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through an online survey and analyzed by using the hierarchical regression method. Findings The results from the hierarchical regression analysis of 198 Czech firms showed that coordinator and representative brokers moderate the relationship between environmental uncertainty and networking behaviour. However, under high environmental uncertainty, the coordinator broker worked best, whereas in the host country, under low environmental uncertainty, the representative broker worked best. Originality/value The findings of this study have useful implications for SMEs in selecting an appropriate broker for strengthening their networking behaviour in the international market. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of various types of brokers on networking behaviour during their internationalization of SMEs. More specifically, this study examined if and how, given the uncertainties in the international market, multiple brokers help SME executives develop networking behaviour.

A SCOR framework to measure logistics performance of humanitarian organizations

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Lu ◽  
Mark Goh ◽  
Robert De Souza
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Humanitarian Supply Chains ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Initial Work ◽  
Last Mile Delivery

Purpose – In humanitarian logistics operations, performance measurement is crucial for effective operation. The purpose of this paper is to develop a set of indicators for humanitarian relief organizations (HROs) for their organizational-level logistics operations. Design/methodology/approach – The authors applied the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) framework to the context of humanitarian supply chains. By taking a bottom-up approach with the support of a large HRO, the authors identified the most important metrics through examining its supply chain processes. The initial metrics are then validated by seven HROs to ensure their applicability in humanitarian logistics operations. Findings – A hierarchical benchmarking framework is proposed, and a set of 26 metrics is identified. The validation of these metrics supports the initial work with all metrics deemed important. It also highlights the implementation difficulty as only five indicators are readily available. The authors further suggested the automation of key logistics processes, which would significantly increase the number of implementable metrics to 14. Research limitations/implications – The sample size of the validation is small, and the last mile delivery is not covered by the metrics. Practical implications – With these performance metrics, HROs are able to monitor their logistics performance better with processed-based measures, which may lead to their policy and process adjustments for performance improvement. Originality/value – The work contributes to performance measurement in humanitarian logistics with a framework of a generic metrics set. The validation result is also original to reveal the state of performance measurement on the ground.

scholarly journals Humanitarian–business partnerships in managing humanitarian logistics

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Nurmala ◽  
Sander de Leeuw ◽  
Wout Dullaert
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
The State ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Business Partnerships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations

Purpose The aim of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review to understand the state of the art of partnerships between humanitarian organizations and business corporations in managing humanitarian logistics. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review is conducted based on the steps proposed by Denyer and Tranfield (2009). The context-intervention-mechanism-outcome (CIMO) logic is applied to identify the state of the art of partnerships between humanitarian organizations and business corporations in humanitarian logistics. Thirty-six papers related to the topic are extracted from recognized journal databases and then classified into four categories based on the CIMO logic: situational context, intervention factors, mechanisms and outcomes. Findings The study shows that while the context and mechanisms for developing cross-sector partnerships between the humanitarian and the business sector have been examined and illuminated by many researchers, additional research (in particular, empirical studies) is needed to measure outcomes as well as the contributions of partnerships to the performance of humanitarian logistics. In addition to synthesizing the literature in this area, this study also presents challenges of such partnerships. Practical implications The study improves the understanding of the state of cross-sector partnerships in humanitarian logistics as well as identifies opportunities for future research in this area. The study provides reasons and motives of initiating humanitarian–business partnerships in humanitarian logistics as well as their mechanisms and potential outcomes. This may help in developing successful logistics partnerships with each other. Originality/value This is the first systematic literature review to examine the nature of partnerships between humanitarian organizations and business corporations in humanitarian logistics using CIMO logic.

Effectiveness of humanitarian logistics training

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl-Kristian Stuns ◽  
Graham Heaslip
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Training Transfer ◽  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Training Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Response Phase ◽  
Rich Data

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of humanitarian logistics training for the Finnish Red Cross (FRC) Emergency Response Unit (ERU) delegates, and the factors that influence its success. The managerial purpose of this research is to support the FRC in improving their Logistics ERU Foundation training. Additionally, this research provides humanitarian organisations, engaged in emergency response efforts, insights for logistics training design. Design/methodology/approach This is a case study examining the FRC, with qualitative data being collected in a field study, utilising participant observation and in-context interview techniques for rich data collection. Findings This research evaluated the effectiveness of the Logistics ERU Foundation training of the FRC by adapting the four-level training evaluation model by Kirkpatrick and transfer of training theories. The research has contributed to Gralla et al.’s (2015) call for further research in evaluating what people learn from humanitarian logistics trainings and in documenting and sharing experiences with specific training programs. Practical implications The conceptual framework serves as a basis for exploratory qualitative investigation of training transfer, from the perspectives of trainees, facilitators and human resource personnel. Originality/value This research contributes to the humanitarian community by identifying gaps in Red Cross Logistics ERU training and to the development of curricula content relating to Red Cross logistics response phase operations. Additionally, this gives other humanitarian organisations, operating in the response phase of natural disasters, insights for logistics training design.

Engaging leadership in the job demands-resources model

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilmar B. Schaufeli
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Job Demands ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Job Resources ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to integrate leadership into the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. Based on self-determination theory, it was argued that engaging leaders who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers would reduce employee’s levels of burnout and increase their levels of work engagement. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was conducted among a representative sample of the Dutch workforce (n=1,213) and the research model was tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – It appeared that leadership only had an indirect effect on burnout and engagement – via job demands and job resources – but not a direct effect. Moreover, leadership also had a direct relationship with organizational outcomes such as employability, performance, and commitment. Research limitations/implications – The study used a cross-sectional design and all variables were based on self-reports. Hence, results should be replicated in a longitudinal study and using more objective measures (e.g. for work performance). Practical implications – Since engaged leaders, who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers, provide a work context in which employees thrive, organizations are well advised to promote engaging leadership. Social implications – Leadership seems to be a crucial factor which has an indirect impact – via job demands and job resources – on employee well-being. Originality/value – The study demonstrates that engaging leadership can be integrated into the JD-R framework.

scholarly journals The psychosocial response to a terrorist attack at Manchester Arena, 2017: a process evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Hind ◽  
Kate Allsopp ◽  
Prathiba Chitsabesan ◽  
Paul French
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Routine Data ◽  
Recovery Phase ◽  
Normalisation Process Theory ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Response Phase

Abstract Background A 2017 terrorist attack in Manchester, UK, affected large numbers of adults and young people. During the response phase (first seven weeks), a multi-sector collaborative co-ordinated a decentralised response. In the subsequent recovery phase they implemented a centralised assertive outreach programme, ‘The Resilience Hub’, to screen and refer those affected. We present a process evaluation conducted after 1 year. Methods Case study, involving a logic modelling approach, aggregate routine data, and semi-structured interviews topic guides based on the Inter-Agency Collaboration Framework and May’s Normalisation Process Theory. Leaders from health, education and voluntary sectors (n = 21) and frontline Resilience Hub workers (n = 6) were sampled for maximum variation or theoretically, then consented and interviewed. Framework analysis of transcripts was undertaken by two researchers. Results Devolved government, a collaborative culture, and existing clinical networks meant that, in the response phase, a collaboration was quickly established between health and education. All but one leader evaluated the response positively, although they were not involved in pre-disaster statutory planning. However, despite overwhelming positive feedback there were clear difficulties. (1) Some voluntary sector colleagues felt that it took some time for them to be involved. (2) Other VCSE organisations were accused of inappropriate, harmful use of early intervention. (3) The health sector were accused of overlooking those below the threshold for clinical treatment. (4) There was a perception that there were barriers to information sharing across organisations, which was particularly evident in relation to attempts to outreach to first responders and other professionals who may have been affected by the incident. (5) Hub workers encountered barriers to referring people who live outside of Greater Manchester. After 1 year of the recovery phase, 877 children and young people and 2375 adults had completed screening via the Resilience Hub, 79% of whom lived outside Greater Manchester. Conclusions The psychosocial response to terrorist attacks and other contingencies should be planned and practiced before the event, including reviews of communications, protocols, data sharing procedures and workforce capacity. Further research is needed to understand how the health and voluntary sectors can best collaborate in the wake of future incidents.

User experience sharing

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 1154-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Chen ◽  
Judy Drennan ◽  
Lynda Andrews ◽  
Linda D. Hollebeek
Keyword(s):  
User Experience ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Driver ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Level Of Effort

PurposeThis paper aims to propose user experience sharing (UES) as a customer-based initiation of value co-creation pertaining to service provision, which represents customers’ level of effort made for the direct benefit of others in their service network. The authors propose and empirically examine a user experience sharing model (UESM) that explicates customer-to-customer (C2C) UES and its impacts on firm-desired customer-based outcomes in online communities.Design/methodology/ApproachBased on an extensive review, the authors conceptualize UES and UESM. By using online survey data collected from mobile app users in organic online communities, the authors performed structural equation modeling analyses by using AMOS 24.FindingsThe results support the proposed UESM, showing that C2C UES acts as a key driver of both firm-desired customer efforts and customer insights. The results also confirmed that service-dominant (S-D) logic-informed motivational drivers exert a significant impact on C2C UES. Importantly, C2C UES mediates the relationship between S-D logic-informed motivational drivers and firm-desired customer-based outcomes.Originality/valueThis study offers a pioneering attempt to develop an overarching concept, UES, which reflects customers’ initiation of value co-creation, and to empirically examine C2C UES. The empirical evidence supports the key contention that firms should proactively facilitate C2C UES.

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