Search results

Contrary to the prevalent theory approaches that treat market selection and market entry mode selection as two related but essentially separate decisions, this paper argues that these should most appropriately be looked on as two aspects of one decision process. It proposes that an exhaustive list of factors that can influence outcomes of such an integrated process be developed and argues that an inclusive spectrum of analysis would be able to accommodate all business contexts and most relevant business practice. It then presents a new market and market entry mode selection model (MEMS) which conforms to the proposed inclusive spectrum of the underlying decision process analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to categorize transportation choice research (mode choice and carrier selection) leading to insight on themes in the literature and directions for future research

The proposed transportation choice research categorization framework is based on a comprehensive literature review of the peer‐reviewed journal papers published over the past 20 years, supplemented with a review of practitioner articles to identify current challenges in the logistics field. The academic papers are analyzed in terms of research purpose/question, methodology, findings, and challenges addressed.

The review reveals that several important themes are under‐represented in the transportation choice literature: environmental and energy use concerns; security in the supply chain; supply chain integration; international growth; and the role of the internet and emerging information technologies. This review also found that simulation, case study, and interview methodologies are under‐represented, and that normative modeling research is only lightly represented in this research.

The contributions of this research are three‐fold: the development of a classification scheme for transportation choice research, a structured review that provides a guide to earlier research on the subject of transportation choice, and the identification of research issues for future investigation.

The decision on market entry mode, or how to enter a selected market, is of critical importance for international contractors' profit making and sustainable growth. Based on a previous study, which successively identified ten basic entry modes specifically for international construction markets, this paper aims to focus on differentiating these entry modes in terms of organizational setting characteristics, compatibility, transferability, feasibility regarding different markets, and strategic effects so as to develop a systematic and comprehensive selection method for international construction market entry modes.

Market entry cases were collected through extensive archival analysis and interviews of practitioners. By a comparative analysis, how the entry modes differ by organizational setting characteristics is analyzed, and how they can be combined or sequenced to deliver a market entry process is empirically explored. The strategic effects which constitute the basis for selection among the entry modes and their combinations are identified, which include risk exposure, return, resource commitment, control, and flexibility.

How the basic entry modes can be combined and sequenced is mapped. The applicability of selected entry modes regarding 42 main country markets is reported. It is found that mobile entry modes and permanent entry modes differ in resource commitment, investment risk and strategic flexibility. Based on the results of the comparative case study, a process model for market entry mode selection is proposed.

The study provides theoretical implications for future studies to develop the market entry mode selection method. Practitioners can also obtain a better understanding of the relationship between the basic entry modes as well as the constraints and principles governing the selection between them.

Transport is the European Union (EU) sector that produces the second highest amount of greenhouse gas emissions. In its attempts to promote the environmentally sustainable development of transport, the EU has focussed on intermodal transport in particular – but with limited success. It is important to understand how freight transport is selected, which criteria are used and what role environmental sustainability and intermodal transport play in the selection. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the role of environmental sustainability and intermodal transport in transport mode decisions. The authors look at this issue from the perspective of logistics service providers (LSPs) and buyers, as they are important stakeholders in guiding this process.

To gain a holistic view of the current state of research, the authors have conducted a systematic literature review of the role of environmental sustainability and intermodal transport in transport mode decisions. The authors have further examined the findings concerning requests for quotations (RfQs), tenders and transport contracts, as these are also linked to decisions on transport choice.

The findings from the literature review include the results of descriptive and structured content analysis of the selected articles. They show that the discussion on environmental sustainability and intermodal transport as a sustainable mode, together with the transport mode selection criteria, RfQs/tenders and transport contracts, is still a rather new and emerging topic in the literature. The main focus related to the selection of transport mode has been on utility and cost efficiency, and only recently have issues such as environmental sustainability and intermodal transport started to gain greater attention. The findings also indicate that the theoretical lenses most typically used have been preference models and total cost theories, although the theoretical base has recently become more diversified.

There is still a need to extend the theoretical and methodological base, which could then lead to innovative theory building and testing. Such diverse application of methodologies will help in understanding how environmental sustainability can be better linked to mode choice decisions.

The findings will be of interest to policy makers and companies opting for environmentally sustainable transport solutions.

If the EU, shippers and LSPs take a more active stance in promoting environmentally sustainable transformation models, this will have long-lasting societal impacts.

It seems that this systematic literature review of the topic is one of the first such attempts in the current body of literature.

The authors consider how the mode of data collection (Internet vs. paper) alters individuals’ responses to different types of survey questions, including subjective, recall, and factual questions. The authors isolate the measurement effect of the mode from the sample selection effect by exploiting predata in a convenience consumer panel. The authors propose using panelists’ reward point balance as exclusion restriction to correct for differing response probabilities by mode, because the reward point balance depends on the timing of the survey invitations and is a source of random variation in response incentive. The authors evaluate average and quantile measurement effects in a mixed-mode Web/paper survey and find statistically significant evidence of mode effects in subjective and recall questions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate remanufacturing operational strategies considering uncertain quality of end-of-life (EOL) products and differential consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for new products and provide suggestions on the remanufacturing mode selection for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

This study considers three remanufacturing modes, i.e. in-house, outsourcing and authorization modes. By establishing and comparing decision models of three modes from the perspectives of profit, consumer surplus and environment, the optimal remanufacturing mode is discussed.

The results suggest that if the OEM’s remanufacturing capability is high, the in-house mode brings to the highest environmental performance, OEM’s profit and consumer surplus. Otherwise, the outsourcing mode (authorization) is the best benefit to environment (consumers if the unit production cost of new products is not too high). As for the preference of two decision-makers to outsourcing and authorization modes, if the difference of consumers’ WTP for new products is low, the OEM prefers the outsourcing mode; otherwise, the OEM prefers the authorization mode. The preference of the third-party remanufacturer (TPR) to remanufacturing mode is affected by consumers’ WTP for remanufactured products, WTP difference for new products and remanufacturing quality level standard.

These results can provide operational insights into how to select remanufacturing mode when the quality of EOL products is uncertain and consumers’ WTP for new products is different under three remanufacturing modes.

This paper is among the first to investigate the joint effects of EOL products’ uncertain quality and differential consumers’ WTP for new products on the operational strategies and performance under different remanufacturing modes.

A sustainable freight transportation system involves freight processes that are economically efficient, socially inclusive and environment friendly. For enhancing sustainability in the freight operations, mode selection is a crucial strategic decision. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is selecting the best mode, or a combination of modes based on various criteria to carry shipments from origin to destination.

This study has used an integrated grey relational analysis based intuitionistic fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making process (GRA–IFP) and fuzzy multi-objective linear programming model. Three scenarios have been developed for analyzing sensitivity of decision variables with the variations in parameters under relevant conditions. A real case of Indian third-party logistics service provider has been used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model.

The most relevant criterion emerged out in this study for multi-mode selection problem is costs. It can be concluded from the study that multi-modal freight transportation has the potential to improve the sustainability of freight transportation by reducing the costs, damages, emissions, traffic congestion and by increasing the speed of delivering the shipment. The sensitivity analysis further shows that road is the economical mode, whereas sea and rail together are the greenest as well as socially responsible modes of transportation.

This study provides an integrated tool, which can be used by freight transporters to decide upon the sustainable modes of transportation for their various shipments.

The technological innovation of Software as a Service-Enterprise Resource Planning (SaaS-ERP) opens several relative advantages, which may be realized by choosing the proper operation mode. Thus a company looking for a new ERP system faces the question: When and under what conditions does it make sense to choose a SaaS-ERP system? The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The relative advantage criterion of the diffusion of innovation theory, derived as operation mode differences, determine the conditions under which SaaS- or On-Premise-ERP is preferable: a classification of all main systemic operation mode differences between SaaS and On-Premise for the more complex ERP systems is presented. The systemic differences were identified by analytic generalization using triangulation between a literature review and a multiple case study with four ERP producers.

The most significant decision factors between ERP operation modes are flexibility, customization, cost, and operation and maintenance. General strategies have been derived by bringing the theoretical reasons together with the operation mode difference criteria. Typical criteria for selecting SaaS-ERP are a lack of IT-capacity or capabilities, as well as high need for flexibility, due to business development, seasonality, growth, collaboration and/or expansion. On-Premise-ERPs should be selected if specific or strategic resources would be outsourced or when major customization is a need.

Case research is limited in that it reveals only ERP producers’ view and omits outlying cases.

The findings implicate that ERP selecting customers should consider and expand their criteria for ERP selection by operation mode criteria.

The classification of the most essential operation mode differences allows, for the first time, ERP selecting customers to design selection strategies. ERP selecting companies should strategically favor the operation mode that best suits their respective organizational characteristics so as to obtain the best possible support from the ERP operation modes.

In the associated paper “Selecting overseas markets and entry modes: two decision processes or one?”, it was proposed that market selection and market entry mode selection be looked upon as two aspects of one decision process. Examines a wide spectrum of factor categories to be included in the proposed MEMS model and argues that an inclusive spectrum of analysis would make it a universally applicable model, capable of accommodating all business contexts and most relevant business practices.

Many types of services involve a sequence in which customers choose a service provider followed by selection of service specifications, that is selecting when and how the service will be performed. Specifications selection can be dominated by the provider, the customer or the customer and provider can jointly select specifications. Customer satisfaction results if specifications selection meets customer expectations of the provider‐customer role. Specifications selection unfolds as a process where information is exchanged between the customer and provider and the provider can be more or less customer oriented. Effective information exchange and a strong customer orientation by the provider contribute to customer satisfaction. Customers make attributions of provider or customer responsibility for specifications selection depending on the type of specifications selection that occurs and provider provision of specifications information. Customers who attribute specification selection to their decisions assume responsibility for the specifications selected.