The impact of supply chain relationship quality on performance in the maritime logistics industry in light of firm characteristics

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-10-2016-0227
• Pages: 1077-1097
• Published date: 20 June 2018
• Date: 20 June 2018
• Author: Youngran Shin,Vinh Thai,Kum Fai Yuen
• Subject Matter: Logistics,Management science & operations

The impact of supply chain

relationship quality on

performance in the maritime

logistics industry in light

of firm characteristics

Youngran Shin

Graduate School of Maritime Industry,

Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan, Republic of Korea

Vinh Thai

School of Business IT and Logistics,

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Melbourne, Australia, and

Kum Fai Yuen

Department of International Logistics, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Abstract

Purpose –Anchoring on configuration theory, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate how supply chain

relationship quality (SCRQ) differs across firm characteristics (FC) in the maritime logistics industry.

In addition, it utilises transactional cost theory to establish the relationship between SCRQ and supply chain

performance (SCP).

Design/methodology/approach –The datawere obtained froma survey with 205 maritimelogistics service

players (shipping firms, shippers and freight forwarders) in Singapore. MANOVA and t-test analyses are used to

examine the difference in SCRQ (i.e. trust and commitment) across FC which includes firm types and ownership

types. Thereafter, structural equation modelling is employed to examine the influence of SCRQ on SCP.

Findings –The results indicate that the effects of trust and commitment on SCRQ vary significantly. It was

also found that trust as an aspect of SCRQ has a significant impact on SCP, whereas commitment does not.

Research limitations/implications –As the field data were obtained from only one industry, future

replication of the findings to other industries should consider industry-specific factors, if applicable.

Practical implications –It is suggested that maritime logistics service players should carefully manage

trust and commitment to simultaneously enable SCP. By identifying the various aspects of FC that contribute

to SCRQ, maritime logistics service providers could devise appropriate strategies for different customer

segments more effectively.

Originality/value –This study expands current supply chain research by linking two dimensions of SCRQ

in relationship marketing with SCP in supply chain management. It is also one of the first empirical attempts

to explore the role of FC in the linkage between SCRQ and SCP in the maritime logistics industry.

Keywords Asia, Supply chain performance, Supply chain management, Mixed method,

Firm-specific characteristics, Supply chain relationship quality, Maritime logistics industry

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

The maritime logistics industry plays a critically important role in facilitating global commerce

as more than 90 per cent of the world’stradeintermsofvolumeiscarriedbysea(IMO,2016).

The industry is a complex system with many players and interdependent relationships both

horizontally and vertically (Caschilli and Medda, 2012). The industry plays a pivotal role in

global supply chains today (Panayides, 2006). This is effectuated by the disintegration in the

manufacturers’supply chain to leverage on national comparative advantages (Williamson, 2008).

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 29 No. 3, 2018

pp. 1077-1097

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-10-2016-0227

Received 18 October 2016

Revised 24 April 2017

17 October 2017

Accepted 17 January 2018

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

www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htm

This paper forms part of the regular section.

1077

Impact of

supply chain

relationship

quality

The resulting outsourcing and offshore production practices lengthen physical distribution and

invoke greater participation from the maritime logistics industry (Notteboom and Rodrigue,

2008). Increasingly, manufacturers are recognising logistics as a source of competitive

advantage, which can be acquired from closer collaboration with their logistic service partners

(Lavie, 2006) upon which trust and commitment are built. It was noted that the maritime logistics

industry functions as a disseminator of strategic information (Hsu, 2013). The growing

contribution of the maritime logistics industry towards global supply chains is matched with the

popularisation of maritime logistics in the recent literature (Panayides and Song, 2013).

For the past decades, shipping firms have consolidated their supply chain both horizontally

and vertically by means of merger and acquisition (Fusillo, 2006). However, this trend was

noted to be on thedecline and the emphasishas now shifted to supply chain integration (SCI)

through the adoption of cooperative and collaborative structures, mechanisms and processes

(Frémont, 2009). Presently, greater level of coordination and collaboration are observed among

actors in the maritime logistics chain with the introduction of multimodal transport operator

(Frémont, 2009), fourth-party logistics (Tezuka, 2011), and collaborative instruments, such as

partnerships, alliances, joint-ventures and vessel-sharing agreements (Evangelista and

Morvillo, 2000). SCI in the maritime logistics industry is linked w ith numerous organisational

benefits (Tseng and Liao, 2015). For instance, it is linked with efficiency gains due to greater

economies of scale and reduction in transaction costs (Panayides and Cullinane, 2002). It also

improves the overall quality of shipping services due to wider economies of scope

(Heaver, 2002). In addition, many scholars generally agreed that the efficiency of supply

chains can be improved through the integration with maritime logistics service providers

(Naim et al., 2006; Chen and Lee, 2008; Yang et al., 2014).

Most SCI studies in the maritime logistics industry have focussed on the tangible aspects

concerning product, information and financial flow (Seo et al., 2015, Tseng and Liao, 2015;

Yang et al., 2014; Yuen and Thai, 2016a, b). However, very little attention has been paid to

the quality of the relationships between members of the maritime logistics industry and its

impact on supply chain performance (SCP). According to Yuen and Thai (2017), the lack of

trust and commitment in the maritime logistics industry, which are components of supply

chain relationship quality (SCRQ), was identified as one of the key factors preventing firms

from collaborating or obtaining the full benefits of SCI. Therefore, the current paper aims to

complement existing supply chain management research in the maritime logistics industry

with a specific focus on relationship marketing.

Amid intensified competition, more and more logistics service providers are adopting

relationship marketing as an alternative to existing mass marketing, which requires huge

investment to reach to as many potential customers as possible (PWC, 2016). The objectives

of this paper are therefore twofold. First, anchoring on configuration theory, it examines

whether the level of SCRQ differs across firm characteristics (FC) such as firm types and

ownership types. Second, grounded on transactional cost theory, the paper investigates the

influence of SCRQ on SCP in the maritime logistics industry.

The rest of the paper proceeds as follows. In the next section, we describe the key

components in the conceptual framework, followed by a review of the previous literature.

Then, we illustrate the structure of the measurement model used to formulate each construct

designed in the conceptual model. Further, we present the methodology followed by the

results. Finally, we discuss the findings and offer conclusions including theoretical and

managerial implications, limitations and future research directions.

2. Theoretical background and research hypotheses

To reiterate, the objectives of this paper are to analyse and explain the difference in SCRQ

across FC which include firm types and ownership types, and to examine the relationship

between SCRQ and SCP.

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IJLM

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