Dynamic capabilities for the creation of logistics flexibility – a conceptual framework

• Pages: 696-714
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-07-2020-0266
• Published date: 07 January 2021
• Date: 07 January 2021
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics
• Author: Erik Sandberg

Dynamic capabilities for the

creation of logistics flexibility –

a conceptual framework

Erik Sandberg

Logistics and Quality Management, Management and Engineering,

Link€

oping, Sweden

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this research is to develop a conceptual framework inwhich dynamic capabilities

(DCs) for the creation of logistics flexibility are outlined, and elaborate it further based on empirical data from a

case study at a Swedish fast fashion retailer.

Design/methodology/approach –A conceptual framework that aims to delineate the relationship between

generic classes of DCs and logistics flexibility is proposed. Thereafter, based on a theory elaboration approach,

empirical data from a case study at a Swedish fast fashion retailer is used to identify more specific DCs and

further outline the characteristics of the DCs classes.

Findings –The proposed framework draws on the three DC classes of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring, and

how they underscore logistics range and logistics response flexibility. The framework also distinguishes

between DC classes and logistics flexibility that occur at operational, structural and strategic levels. DCs for the

creation of logistics flexibility at a Swedish fast fashion retailer have also been identified and described as a

means to further elaborate the characteristics of the DC classes.

Research limitations/implications –Current empirical data is limited to one specific company context.

Practical implications –The research presents a systematic and comprehensive map of different DCs that

underscore logistics flexibility, a useful tool supporting logistics development efforts regarding flexibility.

Originality/value –The establishment of a more detailed DC lens, in which different classes of DCs are

included, means that an improved understanding for how flexibility is created can be achieved. It helps the

research to move beyond the “here and now”existence of logistics flexibility to instead focus on how logistics

flexibility can be created.

Keywords Logistics flexibility, Supply chain flexibility, Dynamic capabilities, Retail, Fashion

Paper type Case study

1. Introduction

In today’s era of turbulence and a rapidly changing business landscape, companies need to

continuously develop and adapt their supply chain practices to fulfil customer requirements

and maintain competitiveness (Christopher and Holweg, 2011). In an uncertain environment,

companies face logistics and supply chain challenges due to various trends and changes such

as disruptions, technological development and altering consumer behaviour (Manders et al.,

2017). To cope with these challenges, logistics flexibility is an essential ingredient, typically

defined as the “ability to align, adapt and adjust the process of the goods flow including the

inbound and outbound activities and the storage of the goods to the changing customers’

needs”(Manders et al., 2017, p. 1009). From a focal company perspective, it hence covers a

wide range of activities related to the physical flow of goods internally as well as upstream

and downstream in the supply chain, with the objective of maintaining customer satisfaction

(Jafari, 2015).

Flexibility has received substantial research interest among logistics and supply chain

management (SCM) scholars and a number of literature reviews on logistics flexibility, as well

as other overlapping concepts such as supply chain flexibility, exist (Jafari, 2015;Tiwari et al.,

IJLM

32,2

696

The author would like to thank The Swedish Retail and Wholesale Council for funding this research.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/0957-4093.htm

Received 18 July 2020

Revised 23 September 2020

6 November 2020

Accepted 25 November 2020

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 32 No. 2, 2021

pp. 696-714

© Emerald Publishing Limited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-07-2020-0266

2015;Manders et al., 2017;Stevenson and Spring, 2007;Gligor and Holcomb, 2012;Sharma

et al., 2017;Fayezi et al., 2017). For instance, attention and valuable insights have been

directed towards descriptive publications on statistics in the field, definitions, types of

flexibility, and operatio nal capabilities required for fl exibility performance. C urrent

understanding of flexibility in the logistics research field is normally grounded in an

expansion of internally oriented manufacturing flexibility research (Liao, 2020;Huo et al.,

2018;Blome et al., 2013).

As a means to complement the manufacturing-centred research, and at the same time

strengthen the theoretical underpinning of the flexibility concept, a dynamic capabilities view

(DCV) has increasingly been applied in flexibility research (Manders et al., 2017;Rojo et al.,

2018). Dynamic capabilities (DCs) are typically defined as “the capacity of an organization to

purposefully create, extend, or modify its resource base”(Helfat et al., 2007, p. 4). In a similar

manner as for flexibility, DCs are acknowledged as a means to cope with changes in the

environment to sustain competitive advantage. Examples of previous work that combines

DCs with flexibility in a logistics and SCM setting include Chiang et al. (2012) who

investigated how strategic sourcing underscored agility as a firm’s dynamic capability,

Griffith et al. (2006) who suggested market responsiveness to be a dynamic capability, and

Kim et al. (2013) who applied a DCV when investigating the relationship between market

flexibility and supply chain responsiveness. A common rationale for these examples is that

the application of a DCV offers a valuable lens for the exploration of what actually

underscores creation of flexibility (Swafford et al., 2006;Rojo et al., 2018;Gligor and Holcomb,

2014). By focusing on the DCs involved in the creation of flexibility, researchers are enabled to

move beyond the “here and now”existence of flexibility to instead focus on how flexibility

can be achieved.

Although identification of factors that determine and influence flexibility have been

highlighted as critical, and the fact that a DCV is often presented as a promising theoretical

lens for understanding these factors (e.g. Gligor and Holcomb, 2014;Blome et al., 2013),

research on the actual DCs that underscore flexibility is still in its infancy. To advance

research in this area, the premise of this research is need to systematically relate the two

concepts of DCs and flexibility to each other in a more detailed manner. This is particularly

built upon the notion that whereas existing research on flexibility offers a large number of

classifications of flexibility, specific types of DCs and their respective role in the creation of

flexibility are so far poorly examined. Establishing a more detailed DC lens, in which different

classes of DCs are included, means that an improved understanding for how flexibility is

created can be achieved.

The purpose of this paper is therefore to (1) develop a conceptual framework in which

dynamic capability classes forthe creation of logistics flexibility are outlined,and (2) elaborate

it further based on empirical data from a case study at a Swedish fast fashion retailer. The

proposed framework draws on Teece’s (2007) three seminal dynamic capability classes of

sensing, seizingand reconfiguring, and how they relateto logistics flexibility as capturedhere

in the two dimensions of range and response flexibility. The framework also distinguishes

between DCs and logistics flexibilitythat occur at operational, structural and strategic levels.

As such, the framework seeks to create a holistic view of the classes of DCs involved in the

creation of logistics flexibility. To limit the complexity, and align it with Teece’s (2007)

framework, the research takes a focalcompany perspective on logisticsflexibility. To further

elaboratecharacteristics of the DC classesinvolved, the framework is appliedto empirical data

from a case study at a Swedish fast fashion retailer. The case study here represents an

interesting, information-rich case concerning a company that operates in an industry with a

high pace of change and major challenges such as omnichannel development and complex,

global logisticsoperations, and is thus in need of logistics flexibility.

The creation of

logistics

flexibility

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