Relationship between intra-firm logistics integration and transaction costs: an empirical study of international multimodal transport companies in Vietnam
Main Article Content
Abstract
Whilst there is theoretical support for the view that there is a negative relationship between intra-firm logistics integration and transaction costs, this has been largely untested in an empirical sense at least. This study remedies this by reporting results from an empirical investigation of the International Multimodal Transport Industry in Vietnam. Extant literature on inter-departmental integration and transaction costs are briefly reviewed. Conceptualized hypotheses are then tested mainly using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. Results from this study imply several mechanisms for reducing transaction costs and thus potentially guiding improvements in firm efficiency and performance. The paper also toucheson areas for future research.
Article Details
Keywords
Logistics, intra-firm logistics integration, transaction costs, international multimodal transport companies, structural equation modelling
References
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38. QUINN, J. B. & MINTZBERG, H. 1988. The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, and Cases, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall.
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42. STANK, T. P., DAUGHERTY, P. J. & ELLINGER, A. E. 1999. Marketing/Logistics Integration and Firm Performance. International Journal of Logistics Management, 10, 11.
43. STOCK, J. R. 2001. Doctoral Research in Logistics and Logistics-related Areas: 19921998. Journal of Business Logistics, 22, 125.
44. STONEBRAKER, P. W. & AFIFI, R. 2004. Toward a Contingency Theory of Supply Chains. Management Decision, 42, 1131.
45. WALLIS, J. J. & DOUGLASS, C. N. 1986. Measuring the Transaction Sector in the American Economy, 1870-1970. In: ENGERMAN, S. L. & GALLMAN, R. E. (eds.) LongTerm Factors in American Economic Growth. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
46. WILLIAMSON, O. E. 1979. Transaction Cost Economics: The Governance of Contractual Relations. Journal of Law and Economics, 22, 233-62.
47. WILLIAMSON, O. E. 1985. The Economic Institutions of Capitalism: Firms, Markets, Relational Contracting, New York London, Free Press ; Collier Macmillan.
48. WILLIAMSON, O. E. 1991. Comparative Economic Organization: The Analysis of Discrete Structural Alternatives. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, 269.
2. BARKI, H. & PINSONNEAULT, A. 2005. A Model of Organizational Integration, Implementation Effort, and Performance. Organization Science, 16, 165.
3. BERETTA, S. 2004. Enabling Integration in Complex Contexts: The Role of Process Based Performance Measurement Systems. Managerial Finance, 30, 69.
4. BOWERSOX, D. J. 1969. Physical Distribution Development, Current Status, and Potential. Journal of Marketing (pre-1986), 33, 63.
5. BOWERSOX, D. J., CLOSS, D. J., STANK, T. P. & MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1999. 21st Century Logistics: Making Supply Chain Integration a Reality, Oak Brook, Council of Logistics Management.
6. CHOW, G., HEAVER, T. D. & HENRIKSSON, L. E. H. 1995. Strategy, Structure and Performance: A Framework for Logistics Research. Logistics and Transportation Review, 31, 285-303.
7. CUNNINGHAM, E. 2008. Structural Equation Modelling Using Amos, Melbourne,
Statsline.
8. DAUGHERTY, P. J., ELLINGER, A. E. & GUSTIN, C. M. 1996. Integrated Logistics: Achieving Logistics Performance Improvements. Supply Chain Management, 1, 25-33.
9. DOUGHERTY, D. J. 1992. Interpretive Barriers to Successful Product Innovation in Large Firms. Organization Science, 3, 179-202.
10. EIGEN-ZUCCHI, C. 2001. The Measurement of Transactions Costs. Ph.D., George Mason University.
11. ELLRAM, L. M. 1995. Partnering Pitfalls and Success Factors. International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, 31, 35.
12. FAWCETT, S. E. & CLINTON, S. R. 1997. Enhancing Logistics to Improve the Competitiveness of Manufacturing Organizations: A Triad Perspective. Transportation Journal, 37, 18.
13. GLOBERMAN, S. & SCHWINDT, R. 1986. The Organization of Vertically Related Transactions in the Canadian Forest Products Industries. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 7, 199.
14. GLOUBERMAN, S. & MINTZBERG, H. 2001. Managing the Care of Health and the Cure of Disease - Part II: Integration. Health Care Management Review, 26, 70.
15. GUSTIN, C. M., DAUGHERTY, P. J. & STANK, T. P. 1995. The Effects of Information Availability on Logistics Integration. Journal of Business Logistics, 16, 1.
16. HAIR, J. F., JR, BLACK, W. C., BABIN, B. J., ANDERSON, R. E. & TATHAM, R. L. 2006. Multivariate Data Analysis, Upper Saddle River, N.J., Pearson Prentice Hall.
17. HOBBS, J. E. 1996. A Transaction Cost Approach to Supply Chain Management. Supply Chain Management, 1, 15-27.
18. HOBBS, J. E. 1997. Measuring the Importance of Transaction Costs in Cattle Marketing. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 79, 1083.
19. HODGE, B. J., ANTHONY, W. P. & GALES, L. M. 1996. Organizational Theory: A Strategic Approach, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall.
20. KAHN, K. B. & MENTZER, J. T. 1996. Logistics and Interdepartmental Integration. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 26, 6-14.
21. KAST, F. E. & ROSENZWEIG, J. E. 1992. System Concepts: Pervasiveness and Potential. Management International Review, 32, 40.
22. KLINE, R. B. 2005. Principles and practices of structural equation modeling, New York, Guilford Press.
23. KULKARNI, S. P. & HERIOT, K. C. 1999. Transaction Costs and Information Costs as Determinants of the Organizational Form: A Conceptual Synthesis. American Business Review, 17, 43.
24. LAMBERT, D. M., COOPER, M. C. & PAGH, J. D. 1998. Supply Chain Management: Implementation Issues and Research Opportunities. International Journal of Logistics Management, 9, 1.
25. LARSON, P. D. 1994. An Empirical Study of Inter-organizational Functional Integration and Total Costs. Journal of Business Logistics, 15, 153.
26. LAWRENCE, P. R. & LORSCH, J. W. 1986. Organization and Environment: Managing Differentiation and Integration, Boston, Harvard Business School Press.
27. LUO, W., VAN HOEK, R. I. & ROOS, H. H. 2001. Cross-cultural Logistics Research: A Literature Review and Propositions. International Journal of Logistics: Research and Applications, 4, 57-78.
28. LUO, Y. 2005. Toward Coopetition within a Multinational Enterprise: A Perspective from Foreign Subsidiaries. Journal of World Business, 40, 71-90.
29. MATHIESEN, H. 2007. Four Basic Contracts: Market, Bargain, Firm and Government [Online]. Available: http://www.encycogov.com/B11ResearchTraditions/TCE/ Exhi_1DecomposeTC.asp [Accessed 3rd August 2007].
30. MIN, S. 2001a. Inter-Corporate Cooperation in Supply Chain Management. In: MENTZER,
J. T. (ed.) Supply Chain Management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
31. MIN, S. 2001b. Inter-functional Coordination in Supply Chain Management. In: MENTZER,
J. T. (ed.) Supply Chain Management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
32. MINTZBERG, H. 1996. Reading 6.2: The Structuring of Organizations. In: MINTZBERG, H. & QUINN, J. B. (eds.) The Strategic Process: Concepts, Contexts, Cases. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NU: Prentice Hall.
33. MOLLENKOPF, D., GIBSON, A. & OZANNE, L. 2000. The Integration of Marketing and Logistics Functions: An Empirical Examination of New Zealand Firms. Journal of Business Logistics, 21, 89.
34. MURPHY, P. R. & POIST, R. F. 1996. Comparative Views of Logistics and Marketing Practitioners Regarding Interfunctional Co-ordination. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 26, 15-28.
35. NGUYEN, T. P., CRASE, L. & DURDEN, R. G. 2008. Organizational Logistics Processes: A Literature Review and an Exploratory Investigation of International Multimodal Transport in Vietnam. Asia Pacific Management Review, 13, 403-418.
36. PALLANT, J. 2005. SPSS Survival Manual: A Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis Using SPSS for Windows (Version 12), Crows Nest, NSW, Allen & Unwin.
37. POWER, D. 2005. Supply Chain Management Integration and Implementation: A Literature Review. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 10, 252-263.
38. QUINN, J. B. & MINTZBERG, H. 1988. The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, and Cases, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall.
39. ROBBINS, S. P. & BARNWELL, N. 2002. Organisation Theory: Concepts and Cases, French Forest, N.S.W., Prentice Hall.
40. ROSS, D. F. 2003. Introduction to E-supply Chain Management: Engaging Technology to Build Market-winning Business Partnerships, Boca Raton, FL, St. Lucie Press.
41. SIMON, H. 1961. Administrative Behavior, New York, NY, Macmillan.
42. STANK, T. P., DAUGHERTY, P. J. & ELLINGER, A. E. 1999. Marketing/Logistics Integration and Firm Performance. International Journal of Logistics Management, 10, 11.
43. STOCK, J. R. 2001. Doctoral Research in Logistics and Logistics-related Areas: 19921998. Journal of Business Logistics, 22, 125.
44. STONEBRAKER, P. W. & AFIFI, R. 2004. Toward a Contingency Theory of Supply Chains. Management Decision, 42, 1131.
45. WALLIS, J. J. & DOUGLASS, C. N. 1986. Measuring the Transaction Sector in the American Economy, 1870-1970. In: ENGERMAN, S. L. & GALLMAN, R. E. (eds.) LongTerm Factors in American Economic Growth. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
46. WILLIAMSON, O. E. 1979. Transaction Cost Economics: The Governance of Contractual Relations. Journal of Law and Economics, 22, 233-62.
47. WILLIAMSON, O. E. 1985. The Economic Institutions of Capitalism: Firms, Markets, Relational Contracting, New York London, Free Press ; Collier Macmillan.
48. WILLIAMSON, O. E. 1991. Comparative Economic Organization: The Analysis of Discrete Structural Alternatives. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, 269.