Abstract
Sustainability in the logistics sector is much talked about, but at the same time there is little overview of the current activities. This paper provides an input to such an overview of logistics services provided in the Danish logistics sector in 2011. The purpose of the study is also to investigate driving forces of development towards sustainable logistics services from the industry.
The paper is descriptive and based on an online survey sent to managing directors of 201 companies in the Danish logistics sector. The survey questions were developed on the basis of literature studies on logistics and supply chain sustainability and innovation in the logistics service industry.
The findings of the study are that sustainability is an issue in the sector, but also that not much is generally happening in the industry. The findings suggest that cost is the main driver of sustainability in the logistics sector, but also that a sustainability profile is not used as a driver for marketing new sustainable logistics services. The customers, on the other hand, are focused on price, geographical coverage and reliability of delivery.
This study reports a portion of survey results that cover more issues than sustainability and innovation. Despite an overall response rate of 40%, the rates for sustainability questions in particular were much lower. The implication here is that there is little meaning in using statistical tools. This is a limitation
of the findings but, on the other hand, there is also information in not responding to certain questions. Such information could be that a large number of the respondents were not able to answer because they had thought about neither sustainability nor innovation as concepts relevant for them or the
logistics sector.
The paper provides an overview of the state of the art in the Danish logistics sector with respect to important topics of innovation and sustainability. This can be useful in helping practitioners to reassess their own positioning. Practitioners are advised to implement more formal procedures for innovation of sustainable logistics services.
The paper links the research domains of innovation and sustainability and provides empirical insights into the development of sustainable services in the Danish logistics sector.
The paper is descriptive and based on an online survey sent to managing directors of 201 companies in the Danish logistics sector. The survey questions were developed on the basis of literature studies on logistics and supply chain sustainability and innovation in the logistics service industry.
The findings of the study are that sustainability is an issue in the sector, but also that not much is generally happening in the industry. The findings suggest that cost is the main driver of sustainability in the logistics sector, but also that a sustainability profile is not used as a driver for marketing new sustainable logistics services. The customers, on the other hand, are focused on price, geographical coverage and reliability of delivery.
This study reports a portion of survey results that cover more issues than sustainability and innovation. Despite an overall response rate of 40%, the rates for sustainability questions in particular were much lower. The implication here is that there is little meaning in using statistical tools. This is a limitation
of the findings but, on the other hand, there is also information in not responding to certain questions. Such information could be that a large number of the respondents were not able to answer because they had thought about neither sustainability nor innovation as concepts relevant for them or the
logistics sector.
The paper provides an overview of the state of the art in the Danish logistics sector with respect to important topics of innovation and sustainability. This can be useful in helping practitioners to reassess their own positioning. Practitioners are advised to implement more formal procedures for innovation of sustainable logistics services.
The paper links the research domains of innovation and sustainability and provides empirical insights into the development of sustainable services in the Danish logistics sector.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 24th Annual Nordic Logics Research Network Conference : NOFOMA 2012 |
| Editors | Juuso Töyli, Laura Johansson, Harri Lorentz, Lauri Ojala, Sini Laari |
| Place of Publication | Turku |
| Publisher | Turku School of Economics and Business Administration |
| Publication date | 2012 |
| Pages | 172-180 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | The 24th NOFOMA Conference 2012: Annual Nordic Logistics Research Network Conference - Turku School of Economics, Turku, Finland Duration: 7. Jun 2012 → 8. Jun 2012 Conference number: 24 http://www.nofoma.net/SubPage.aspx?id=76 |
Conference
| Conference | The 24th NOFOMA Conference 2012 |
|---|---|
| Number | 24 |
| Location | Turku School of Economics |
| Country/Territory | Finland |
| City | Turku |
| Period | 07/06/2012 → 08/06/2012 |
| Internet address |