Determinants of success in transport services outsourcing: empirical study in Europe

Date12 February 2018
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-09-2016-0207
Pages261-283
Published date12 February 2018
AuthorCarlos Sanchis-Pedregosa,Jose A.D. Machuca,María-del-Mar González-Zamora
Subject MatterManagement science & operations,Logistics
Determinants of success in
transport services outsourcing:
empirical study in Europe
Carlos Sanchis-Pedregosa
School of Business, Universidad del Pacifico, Lima, Peru, and
Jose A.D. Machuca and María-del-Mar González-Zamora
Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
Abstract
Purpose This research proposes ideal interaction patterns for structural dimensions (buyer and supplier
representatives involved in the interaction and buyer and supplier critical capabilities) for transport service
outsourcing. The purpose of this paper is to establish whether those ideal interaction patterns are
determinants of success of the interaction. In this paper, the latter is measured against the corresponding
process success and outcome success.
Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a conceptual model based on the prior literature
and adapted to this specific case of transport services. The proposed model is approached using the partial
least squares simultaneous equation models. For this, the result of a survey to senior management at
European machinery, electronics and automotive sector manufacturing plants has been used.
Findings When companies possess the proposed ideal patterns for the structural dimensions, this brings
with it positive effects on both the process success and the outcome success obtained by the outsourcing
plant. Therefore, buyer-supplier relationships have been recognized to play a key role in the outcomes of this
interaction and that the design and management of interfaces between companies and their logistics
providers are critical.
Practical implications Managers can use the present research findings to produce an appropriate
interaction design that includes the representatives and capabilities required to make transport service
outsourcing a success.
Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on transport research by specifically
establishing ideal interaction patterns for the structural dimensions that buyer and suppliers companies need
to consider for achieving successful transport services outsourcing. Besides, the present research proposes a
multidimensional measure of outcome success that combines major strategic, operational and financial
outputs. Finally, this research represents the first survey-based empirical evidence on the topic, having used a
sample of 93 plants belonging to many different companies in five European countries.
Keywords Transportation, Europe, Transport, Buyer-supplier interaction, Logistic, Outsourcing services
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Outsourcingany activities generates relationshipsbetween the buying and selling companies
that need to be well managed to ensure that a positive effect comes from said relationships
(Roth and Menor, 2003).In the particular case of logistics activity, there are many companies
that forge long-term links withspecialized suppliers in orderto increase benefits and decrease
risks in logisticsoutsourcing, improve efficiency and profitability, and offer a bettercustomer
service performance (Krizman, 2009). The success of these relationshipsand, by extension, of
the outsourcing of the logistics activity can become important for achieving a competitive
advantage (Fawcett and Cooper, 1998). However, customer company-logistics services
The International Journal of
Logistics Management
Vol. 29 No. 1, 2018
pp. 261-283
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0957-4093
DOI 10.1108/IJLM-09-2016-0207
Received 9 September 2016
Revised 10 March 2017
2 June 2017
Accepted 3 June 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htm
This study was supported by Acción especial SGUIT-2015 (SBAPA 2015-06) HPM-Proyecto-2015/148
US-Junta de Andalucía;and partially by Junta de Andalucía (Spain) PAIDI Excellence Projects
(P08-SEJ-03841)and the Spanish National Program of Industrial Design and Production (DPI2009-11148).
The authors would like to express sincere gratitude to the Junta de Andalucía and the Spanish national DPI
Program for their support.
261
Success in
transport
services
outsourcing
provider relationships design and management during the interaction (herein referred to as
interaction interface) have been considered to be at the root of the wide differences found in
the results of logistics outsourcing (Hartmann and de Grahl, 2012), as can be observed in a
range of studies (e.g. Boyson et al., 1999; Lieb and Bentz, 2005; Gadde and Hulthén, 2009).
Accordingly, it seems that it is essential to give special attention to the design and
management of the interfaces of the interaction that determines the logistics outsourcing
buyer-serviceprovider relationships(Whipple and Roh, 2010; Hammervoll,2009). A variety of
authors statein relation to this that the designand management of these interfacesare a major
determinant of the results that come from customer-provider relationships (e.g. Sampson,
2000; Hertz and Alfredsson, 2003) and that it is essential to know which aspects positively
impact the results of outsourcing (Deepen et al., 2008). Despite the importance of the topic,
empirical research in the field is limited (Wallenburg et al., 2010).
In order to address this gap, the present paper focuses on the design of the interaction
interface and its effects on the success of logistics outsourcing. This design establishes the
organizational resources required from the buyer and the seller (van der Valk, 2008), among
which human resources are especially relevant (Roth and Menor, 2003). In fact, the quality
and productivity of outsourced services are often highly dependent on the human resources
involved in the production, delivery and consumption of said services on both sides of the
relationship (Grönroos, 2000).
In line with the above, following Cunningham and Homse (1986), Wynstra et al. (2006)
considered that there are two aspects of human resources that must be taken into account in
interaction design, which together comprise what these authors call structural dimensions
of interaction. These dimensions are the types of organizational resources of either party
involved in the outsourcing and, more specifically:
representatives involved: type of functional representatives involved in on-going
interactions, both in the buying company and the service provider; and
critical capabilities: skills that buyer and service provider representatives involved in
the interaction should master.
Said authors also considered that the configuration of these structural dimensions is influenced
by the key objective pursued in the interaction, which depends on how the buying company
uses the outsourced service in its business process. In relation to this, taking Chisnalls (1982)
study of the interaction between buyers and suppliers of industrial goods as their basis,
Wynstra et al. (2006) distinguished four services types: component services (distributed to
customers with no type of processing by the buying company); semi-manufactured services
(transformed by the buyer before being distributed to customers); instrumental services
(affecting the way that the companys primary processes are carried out but not distributed to
customers); and consumption services (consumed within the organization and concerning the
support processes of the buyer). The same authors stated that each type of service requires the
mentioned structural dimensions to be configured in different and specific ways, resulting in
ideal interaction patterns for each type of service, which means that said ideal interaction
patterns are determinants of the interactions success. In other words, if the buyer and service
supplier companies in question use said ideal interaction patternsfor the structural
dimensions (representatives involved and critical capabilities) that they are going to use for the
interaction, this will facilitate said interactions success. It should not be forgotten that not only
does the type of outsourced service influence these ideal interaction patterns, but the risk linked
to the outsourced service as perceived by the b uyer is also important (Wynstra et al., 2006;
van der Valk et al., 2008). The same authors that proposed these patterns stated the need for
them to be tested empirically for specific services.
In keeping with what has been stated in the foregoing, it has been considered appropriate
for these ideas to be tested in the area of a service considered to be very representative, as it
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