Logistics IS resources, organizational factors, and operational performance. An investigation into domestic logistics firms in China

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-02-2018-0023
• Date: 13 May 2019
• Published date: 13 May 2019
• Pages: 569-594
• Author: Xiaodan Pan,Martin Dresner,Yurong Xie
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations

Logistics IS resources,

organizational factors, and

operational performance

An investigation into domestic logistics

firms in China

Xiaodan Pan

John Molson School of Business, Concordia University,

Montreal, Canada

Martin Dresner

Robert H. Smith School of Business,

University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA, and

Yurong Xie

School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University,

Beijing, China

Abstract

Purpose –Drawing on the resource-based view and resource complementarity theory, the purpose of this

paper is to investigate two research questions: To what extent are logistics information system (IS) resources

associated with improved operational performance? And to what extent are these relationships contingent on

organizational factors?

Design/methodology/approach –A conceptual model with a nested structure is presented to link logistics

IS resources and organizational factors with operational performance. The findings are validated using a

cross-sectional sample of secondary data from domestic logistics firms in China.

Findings –This paper extends existing operational-level measures for logistics IS resources into a three-tier

tactical-level typology: inside-out resources (operation-focused IS, decision-focused IS and IS development

capability); outside-in resources (relation-focused IS and market-focused IS); and spanning resources

(IS integration capability and IS management capability). Though logistics IS resources, in general, are

positively related to operational performance, inside-out IS resources have the most significant impact.

Organizational factors, such as firm size, firm age and firm ownership, may enhance or suppress the effects of

logistics IS resources on performance.

Practical implications –The findings are valuable to both logistics firms and buyer firms in an emerging

market, as logistics IS resources may affect costs and quality of logistics service. The tactical-level typology

allows logistics firms to better plan for and manage emerging IS resources in a competitive environment.

Originality/value –This paper extends prior work regarding the complementary effects of logistics IS

resources and organizational factors on operational performance. Logistics firms should carefully manage the

three types of tactical-level IS resources according to their organizational environment to achieve a

sustainable competitive advantage.

Keywords China, Management research, Information technology, Logistics industry, Mixed method

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

The development of information systems (IS) has profoundly affected the logistics industry

in emerging economies. In particular, domestic logistics firms in China, the focus of this

study, are extensively implementing IS resources. A dilemma for these logistics firms with The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 30 No. 2, 2019

pp. 569-594

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-02-2018-0023

Received 4 February 2018

Revised 8 October 2018

24 December 2018

Accepted 24 December 2018

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

www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htm

The authors are grateful for the data support from the China Communications and Transportation

Association (CCTA) and NSFC Grant 71390034.

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resources

limited resources is determining which IS resources are critical to achieving competitive

advantage. As a result, two research questions are investigated:

RQ1. To what extent are logistics IS resources associated with operational performance?

RQ2. To what extent are these relationships contingent on organizational factors, such

as size of the firm, age of the firm and ownership of the firm?

Keen (1993) points out that, “The wide difference in competitive and economic benefits that

companies gain from information technology rests on a management difference and not a

technical difference.”Thus, the complementary effects of logistics IS resources and

organizational factors deserve greater attention from both researchers and practitioners.

IS resources represent an element of a firm’s capabilities that must be carefully managed to

achieve a sustainable competitive advantage (Barney, 1991; Wad e and Hulland, 2004). Previous

studies have examined the direct linkages between IS resources and firm performance

(Bardhan et al., 2007; Bendoly et al., 2012; Chung and Swink, 2009; Hardgrave et al., 2013;

Lai et al., 2008; Mcafee, 2002; Setia and Patel, 2013; Wang et al., 2008; Whitaker et al., 2007; Yao

et al., 2009). Further studies have investigated the complementary effects of IS resources and

non-IS resources on firm performance (Bendoly et al., 2012; Jeffers et al., 2008; Fawcett et al.,

2011). In addition, other studies have explored the anteceden ts and consequences from the

adoption of IS resources focusing on the logistics industry in an emerging economy (Lai et al.,

2008; Lin, 2008). This study explores the complementarity impact of IS resources and

organizational factors on operational performance within an emerging economy context.

This study proposes a tactical-level typology for logistics IS resources. Existing typ ologies

emphasize how IS resources can be employed to manage logistics operations, such as

warehouse management, transportation management, customer relations management, decision

support, data exchange, operation visibility and cargo tracking (Jeffers et al., 2008; Lin, 2008;

Lai et al., 2008). Following Day (1994) and Wade and Hulland (2004), this study proposes that

logistics IS resources can be categorized into three higher-level tactical constructs: inside-out IS

resources (operation-focused IS, decision-focused IS and IS development capability), outside-in

IS resources (relation-focused IS and market-focused IS) and organization-spanning IS resources

(IS integration capability and IS management capability). To form these tactical-level constructs,

wemaptraditionalandemerginglogisticsISresourcesintothisframework.

Wade and Hulland (2004) encourage research on how the impact of IS resources on firm

performance may be influenced by organizational factors. The theoretical notion of resource

complementarity emphasizes that the marginal benefit of one type of resource may be

impacted by another type of resource (Bendoly et al., 2012).

Black and Boal (1994) point out that the relationship among resources can have three

forms: compensatory, enhancing and suppressing. For example, Jeffers et al. (2008) find that

IS resources either enhance or suppress the effects of non-IS resources on process

performance. Bendoly et al. (2012) conclude that IS resources complement the effects on

performance of internal and external coordination. Drawing on the resource-based view

(RBV) and resource complementarity theory, we argue that the linkage between logistics IS

resources and operational performance is contingent on organizational factors, such as firm

size, firm age and firm ownership.

This study extends previous research in three important ways. First, as noted above, this

study generalizes the existing operational-level typology for logistics IS resources into a

three-tier tactical-level typology. Second, this study examines the direct relationships

between these logistics IS resources and operational performance. Third, this study

examines the complementarity of logistics IS resources and organizational factors in an

emerging economy context.

The theoretical model for this paper is empirically validated using a cross-sectional

sample of secondary data from domestic logistics firms in China. These data allow us to test

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