Evaluating Key Resources and Capabilities for Liner Shipping Services

Abstract This paper empirically evaluates key resources and capabilities in the liner shipping context. Based on a factor analysis, three resource dimensions are identified: marine equipment, information equipment, and corporate image; whereas seven capability dimensions are identified: purchasing, operation, human resource management, customer service, information integration, pricing, and financial management. The findings suggest that operation capability is perceived as the most important dimension, followed by customer service, human resource management, information integration, pricing purchasing, and financial management. Results indicate that four dimensions are found that significantly differ between shipping companies and agencies: marine equipment, information equipment, operation, and information integration. The theoretical and managerial implications of the research findings are discussed.

[1]  T. Jamaluddin,et al.  Marketing of freight liner shipping services with reference to the Far East-Europe trade : a Malaysian perspective , 1995 .

[2]  James A. Constantin,et al.  Shipper Versus Carrier Perceptions of Carrier Selection Variables , 1978 .

[3]  Chin-Shan Lu,et al.  Strategic groups in Taiwanese liner shipping , 1999 .

[4]  Mahen Tampoe,et al.  Exploiting the core competences of your organization , 1994 .

[5]  P. Marlow,et al.  Logistics capability and performance in Taiwan's major manufacturing firms , 2005 .

[6]  U. Sekaran.  Research Methods for Business , 1999 .

[7]  M. Javidan,et al.  Core competence: What does it mean in practice? , 1998 .

[8]  John A. Sharp,et al.  The management of a student research project , 1983 .

[9]  Mark S. Litwin,et al.  How to Measure Survey Reliability and Validity , 1995 .

[10]  J. Jenssen.  Innovation, capabilities and competitive advantage in Norwegian shipping , 2003 .

[11]  Chin-Shan Lu.  The impact of carrier service attributes on shipper–carrier partnering relationships: a shipper’s perspective , 2003 .

[12]  Margaret A. Peteraf.  The cornerstones of competitive advantage: A resource‐based view , 1993 .

[13]  S J Meyrick,et al.  CARRIER SELECTION IN A RO/RO FERRY TRADE. , 1992 .

[14]  B. Wernerfelt,et al.  A Resource-Based View of the Firm , 1984 .

[15]  Terry S. Overton,et al.  Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys , 1977 .

[16]  R. Kaplan,et al.  The balanced scorecard--measures that drive performance. , 2015, Harvard business review.

[17]  Jae-on Kim,et al.  Introduction to Factor Analysis , 1978 .

[18]  M R Brooks,et al.  AN ALTERNATIVE THEORETICAL APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION OF LINER SHIPPING : PART II, CHOICE CRITERIA MARY R. BROOKS , 1985 .

[19]  C. Prahalad,et al.  The Core Competence of the Corporation , 1990 .

[20]  James L. Whyte,et al.  The Freight Transport Market: Buyer‐Seller Relationships and Selection Criteria , 1993 .

[21]  M A Brooks,et al.  OCEAN CARRIER SELECTION CRITERIA IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT , 1990 .

[22]  Garland Chow,et al.  Logistics Performance: Definition and Measurement , 1994 .

[23]  S. Hunt,et al.  The Comparative Advantage Theory of Competition , 1995 .

[24]  R. Gray,et al.  Factors Influencing Freight Service Choice for Shippers and Freight Suppliers , 1993 .

[25]  J. Scott Armstrong,et al.  Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys. , 1977 .

[26]  Chin-Shan Lu.  LOGISTICS SERVICES IN TAIWANESE MARITIME FIRMS , 2000 .

[27]  W. P. Barnett,et al.  An Evolutionary Model of Organizational Performance , 1994 .

[28]  P. Williamson,et al.  Related diversification, core competences and corporate performance , 2007 .

[29]  David Coates,et al.  Putting Core Competency Thinking into Practice , 1995 .

[30]  M. Brooks.  An alternative theoretical approach to the evaluation of liner shipping Part II. Choice criteria , 1985 .

[31]  K. Lai.  Service capability and performance of logistics service providers , 2004 .

[32]  K. Hafeez,et al.  Determining key capabilities of a firm using analytic hierarchy process , 2002 .

[33]  Gilbert A. Churchill,et al.  Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations , 1976 .

[34]  J. Barney.  Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage , 1991 .

[35]  K. Marino,et al.  Developing consensus on firm competencies and capabilities , 1996 .

[36]  Moshe Farjoun,et al.  The independent and joint effects of the skill and physical bases of relatedness in diversification , 1998 .

[37]  C. Prahalad,et al.  The core competence of the corporation’, Harvard Business Review, Vol. pp. . , 1990 .

[38]  Cornelia Dröge,et al.  THE EFFECTS OF LOGISTICS CAPABILITIES ON FIRM PERFORMANCE: CUSTOMER- FOCUSED VERSUS INFORMATION-FOCUSED CAPABILITIES , 2001 .

[39]  Sendil K. Ethiraj,et al.  Where Do Capabilities Come from and How Do They Matter? A Study in the Software Services Industry , 2005 .

[40]  Sheldon R. Smith,et al.  DEVELOPING A LOGISTICS CAPABILITY TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS , 1997 .

[41]  Paul R. Murphy,et al.  THIRD-PARTY LOGISTICS: SOME USER VERSUS PROVIDER PERSPECTIVES. , 2000 .

[42]  Scott B. Keller,et al.  The Effects of Logistics Capabilities and Strategy on Firm Performance , 2000 .

[43]  R. Grant.  The Resource-Based Theory of Competitive Advantage: Implications for Strategy Formulation , 1991 .

[44]  鄭宇庭.  行銷硏究 : Marketing research , 2009 .

[45]  Patricia J. Daugherty,et al.  Utilization of time‐based strategies , 1995 .

[46]  B. Gibson,et al.  SHIPPER-CARRIER RELATIONSHIPS AND CARRIER SELECTION CRITERIA , 1993 .

[47]  P. Schoemaker,et al.  Strategic assets and organizational rent , 1993 .

[48]  S. Vickery,et al.  Sources and Outcomes of Competitive Advantage: An Exploratory Study in the Furniture Industry , 1994 .

[49]  K. R. Conner.  A Historical Comparison of Resource-Based Theory and Five Schools of Thought Within Industrial Organization Economics: Do We Have a New Theory of the Firm? , 1991 .

[50]  D. R. Dalton,et al.  Organization Structure and Performance: A Critical Review , 1980 .

[51]  Michael Tracey,et al.  The impact of supply‐chain management capabilities on business performance , 2005 .

[52]  Rolph E. Anderson,et al.  Multivariate Data Analysis with Readings , 1979 .

[53]  J. Nunnally.  Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[54]  Mark A. Huselid,et al.  Technical and Strategic Human Resource Management Effectiveness as Determinants of Firm Performance , 1997 .

[55]  J. Barney,et al.  CAPABILITIES, BUSINESS PROCESSES, AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: CHOOSING THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE IN EMPIRICAL TESTS OF THE RESOURCE-BASED VIEW , 2004 .

[56]  M. A. Mcginnis,et al.  Shipper Attitudes Toward Freight Transportation Choice: A Factor Analytic Study , 1979 .

[57]  Jae-On Kim,et al.  Introduction to Factor Analysis: What It Is and How To Do It , 1978 .

[58]  G. Day.  The Capabilities of Market-Driven Organizations , 1994 .