The impact of collaborative decision-making on logistics service performance for container shipping services

Abstract

Purpose The increasing demand for high-quality logistics services has forced container shipping firms to decrease logistics service failure to retain the customers. This study thus aims to apply organizational information processing theory (OIPT) to construct a maritime supply chain collaborative decision-making model and examine its impact on logistics service performance. Design/methodology/approach In total, 142 usable questionnaires were collected from questionnaire survey. A two-step structural equation modeling approach including confirmatory factor analysis was subsequently performed to test the hypotheses. Findings The results show that internal information integration positively impacts external information integration, that external information integration positively impacts collaborative decision-making, and that collaborative decision-making positively impacts logistics service performance for container shipping firms. However, a relationship between internal information integration and collaborative decision-making was not found in this study. Research limitations/implications This study primarily examines collaborative decision-making from the view of container shipping firms. Future research including other supply chain members is needed to generalize the results and could also incorporate other factors such as relationship quality and culture, into the model to address this issue. Practical implications To decrease the occurrence of logistics failures and improve service quality in the maritime logistics process, it is suggested that container shipping firms apply information technology for acquiring and assimilating logistics information internally and externally across the supply chain to facilitate decision-making. Originality/value This study contributes to the knowledge about the antecedents and impacts of collaborative decision-making for container shipping firms in Taiwan. Particularly, in line with OITP, the findings indicate that container shipping firms can facilitate logistics decision-making and strategy formulation through information integration, which in turn enhances logistics service performance.