بسته بندی فعالیت های لجستیک دیجیتالی شده و مفاهیم عملکرد آن

Bundling information technology (IT) applications to support logistics activities provides a means for firms to improve their logistics performance. Grounded in the logistics management and management information systems literature, as well as the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, this study empirically: (i) investigates if there exist digitized logistics activities bundles in firms; and if so, (ii) explores the association between digitized logistics activities bundles and logistics performance of firms in terms of logistics cost and logistics service improvements. We surveyed 227 trading firms in Hong Kong and performed a factor analysis of the survey data, from which we identified three digitized logistics activities bundles and found the sample firms were clustered into four types based on the patterns of their digitized logistics activities. We then carried out a MANOVA on the data, the results of which show that different patterns of digitizing logistics activities are associated with different logistics performance outcomes. Specifically, firms with more extensive digitized logistics activities bundles and utilizing them more intensively achieve better logistics performance. Academic and managerial implications for digitizing logistics activities to improve logistics performance are discussed.

Logistics management deals with intra- and inter-organizational processes, involving the coordination and management of the critical flows of information, products, services, and finances, spanning organizational functions within a firm and linking to partner firms in a logistics chain (Christopher, 1998). Prior studies have suggested that application of information technology (IT) in both intra- and inter-organizational business processes is essential to enhancing coordination and communication within firms and among partner firms, which will lead to effective decision-making and superior logistics performance (Kengpol, 2007, Lai et al., 2008, Lee et al., 1997 and Rogers et al., 1992). The primary objective of digitizing logistics activities is to leverage the potential of IT to create customer value by delivering products to the right place at the right time in a cost-effective manner to fully satisfy customer requirements (Wu, Yeniyurt, Kim, & Cavusgil, 2006). Digitization of logistics activities refers to the application of IT to enhance the performance of logistics activities (Ngai, Lai, & Cheng, 2008). Many prior studies on the deployment of IT for logistics management were limited to examining the performance effect of a single IT application for a specific logistics activity, e.g., warehouse management system (WMS) for warehousing activities and electronic data interchange (EDI) for information sharing (Hill and Scudder, 2002, Kekre and Mukhopadhyay, 1992 and Nurmilaakso, 2008). These studies have been criticized for failing to consider the collective nature of IT applications that are interdependent in producing and sustaining business performance (Singh et al., 2007 and Wade and Hulland, 2004). An individual IT application on a logistics activity can be part of a digitized logistics activities bundle that may comprise a wide range of IT applications such as order processing, inventory management, shipment schedule planning, and so forth (Bharadwaj, 2000). Drawing on the resource-based theoretical perspective, researchers have called for due recognition of IT bundles within firms that form a complex resource that is difficult for competitors to recognize and imitate (Coates and McDermott, 2002, Lai et al., 2006 and Whittington et al., 1999). This resource-based view (RBV) of the firm suggests that a resource can be a source of sustained advantage when it is not easily imitated (Barney, 1991). Following this line of thinking, Miles and Snow (2007) reasoned that a firm's decision and investment in its logistics management activities should be anchored on RBV. On the other hand, Clemons and Row (1991) argued that imitation by competitors could erode the advantages gained from IT applications because most business processes can be computerized by adopting readily available IT hardware and software. To attain IT-based competitive advantages, there are three feasible paths: (i) reinvent IT advantages continuously through avant-garde IT innovation; (ii) move first to attain unassailable first-mover advantages; and (iii) utilize IT in a way that generates valuable and sustainable resources (Clemons and Row, 1991 and Powell and Dent-Micallef, 1997). The first two paths are considered unsustainable due to short IT development cycles and fast obsolescence of IT (Sager, 1988 and Warner, 1987). Taking a bundling approach, rather than focusing on one-on-one IT application in managing logistics activities, is consistent with the ideas advanced in resource bundling research (Bharadwaj, 2000 and Vicente-Lorente, 2001). This bundling approach extends beyond a specific IT application with a focus on the extent to which digitized logistics activities are collectively employed in a way that suggests an organizational level effect. In other words, digitized logistics activities bundles capture the collective effects of IT applications and the bundling approach is particularly appropriate for investigating firm-level effects of technological resources on logistics performance (Shah & Ward, 2003). Although the literature tends to suggest that digitized logistics activities bundles are beneficial to organizations, there is a lack of empirical evidence supporting this view. One objective of this study is to explore the existence of different digitized logistics activities bundles and their underlying resource configurations. Another objective is to establish and empirically test if firms displaying different configurations of digitized logistics activities bundles vary in their service- and cost-related logistics performance. These objectives relate to the following research questions: Are different configurations of digitized logistics activities bundles associated with particular clusters of firms? If so, how are the differences in logistics cost and logistics service performance of the clustered firms accounted for by configurations of IT-based resource bundles?

Our empirical data collected from 227 trading companies lent support to our propositions that there exist different types of firms displaying different configurations of digitized logistics activities bundles and that different levels of logistics performance are associated with different firm types. Specifically, the findings provide support for our RBV theorization that firms do bundle their digitized logistics activities in support of their logistics activities within and across firms, and firms having a more extensive set of digitized logistics activities bundles and utilizing them more intensively tend to attain better service- and cost-related logistics performance. This study highlights the benefits of bundling digitized logistics activities for firms that seek to improve their logistics performance. In addition, the findings show how IT-based resources pertinent to digitizing logistics activities can benefit firms for logistics performance. This study establishes a foundation for future studies to advance knowledge on the bundling of digitized logistics activities and its performance implications, as well as the contingencies under which the resource bundles are mostly likely to be revealed in firms for improving logistics performance.