The influence of the management success factors of logistics service providers on firms' competitiveness

POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 2018 Vol.17 No.1 175 THE INFLUENCE OF THE MANAGEMENT SUCCESS FACTORS OF LOGISTICS SERVICE PROVIDERS ON FIRMS’ COMPETITIVENESS Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J.* Abstract: Our research deals with a comprehensive study of the management success factors of logistics service providers using a new approach, and examines the life of logistics service companies. The data were collected from 51 logistics service providers in Hungary. In formulating the hypotheses, we considered management success factors and examined their impact on and relationship with the factors of competitiveness of logistics service companies (including breaking them down in terms of their performance, operations and capacity to change). To sum up and listing in order the success factors of the business, we have found that trust is the first, sector-specific IT development the second, the third is the choice of strategy and the fourth is the service portfolio and profitability-based diversification. The order and volume of development of these areas can have a significant impact on the development and financial results of the factors determining the competitiveness of logistics companies. The results of our research can effectively support logistics service providers in finding their business success factors, which will enable them to fully satisfy their customers' expectations in the supply chain. Key words: logistics service providers, collaboration, relationship value, competitiveness, success factor DOI: 10.17512/pjms.2018.17.1.15 Article history: Received December 29, 2017; Revised May 11, 2018; Accepted June 10, 2018 Introduction In recent years it has become increasingly topical to examine logistics as a field of science that significantly influences the value creation and competitiveness of enterprises, and more specifically to get to know and analyse the activity of enterprises providing logistics services. In order to achieve these aims, it necessary to identify the management success factors supporting the fundamental competitiveness of logistics enterprises, as it is an essential development step for the companies involved (Wu, 2012; Jazairy et al., 2017). The categorization of logistic services began in the early 1990s when complex logistics functions and services were developed within the framework of long-term partnerships within *Judit Oláh, PhD., Institute of Applied Informatics and Logistics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, Hungary; Rabeea Sadaf, Ihrig Károly PhD Doctoral School, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, Hungary; Domicián Máté, PhD., Institute of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, Hungary; József Popp, Prof., Institute of Sectoral Economics and Methodology, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, Hungary  Corresponding author: p[email protected].hu 2018 Vol.17 No.1 POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 176 traditional transport and warehousing activities. This phenomenon is called 3 PL (Third Party Logistics). These services are provided by the 3rd Party Logistics Provider (3 PLP). In international literature, the growing level of logistics services is represented as a pyramid (Trembeczky, 2007). In addition to the pyramid, the ever-deepening integration of logistics service providers in the supply chain is evident. Due to the integration and the increasing customer service expectations, the number of services provided by the logistics service providers is increasing and the service portfolio is widening. The development and change of logistics service providers was shown by (Meng et al., 2010). Logistics service companies are integrated companies in the supply chain, service providers offering diverse and wide-ranging value-added activities, which have acquired significant roles in the competition in supply chains over recent years. The shift in the competition of goods and services to competition in supply chains has revalued the role of logistics service providers in analyses of company activities and relationships. Economic impacts, such as globalization and natural risks, including the extraordinary effects of unexpected natural disasters, have further raised the importance of the role mentioned above and the generalization of the results obtained, and thanks to their integration, the conclusions reached during the analysis of logistic service providers have also been broadly extended to the relationships between companies in the supply network. A more advanced role for LSPs has been created by the connectivity and communication requirements of the leading supply chains. Logistics service providers strive to boost their capabilities and use their resources efficiently. As the global economy has expanded, logistics has become increasingly important, parallel to the expanding role of logistics service providers. Companies generally outsource their logistics to external service providers in order to improve the efficiency of their core functions. How to manage their relationships with service providers is critical to the success of these outsourcing activities, due to the loosely coupled nature of outsourcing relationships. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to identify the management success factors which support the fundamental abilities of logistics enterprises and this is also a necessary step for the development of companies in the target group. In order to identify their management success factors it is certainly justified to carry out comprehensive research among logistics service providers. The role of these service providers has become increasingly important in the economy. For global logistics service companies, international supply chains pose challenges and opportunities at the same time. The search for proper enterprise size through acquisitions and strategies (such as the search for economies of scale on the part of logistics service providers, and the role of strategic choice) can support logistics service companies in identifying their management success factors which could assist them in meeting the expectations of their customers in the value chain. This research contributes to the sparse literature that has examined the relationship between key success factors and performance among logistic service providers POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 2018 Vol.17 No.1 177 in a Hungarian context. The identification of answers could support LSPs in Hungary in identifying their management success factors which could assist them in meeting the expectations of their customers in the value chain – supply chain – supply network. Literature Review The logistics services industry has exhibited tremendous growth for more than two decades (Maloni and Carter, 2006) and the work of LSPs has been increasingly recognised over the last few years, as has the significance of functioning supply relationships (Huemer, 2012). LSPs provide typical warehousing activities such as receipts, shipments, inspections, packing for specific clients, and then billing the client for these warehouse services. A more advanced role for LSPs has been created by the connectivity and communication requirements of leading supply chains. The literature shows that the logistics services industry is an increasingly important topic for researchers (Panayides, 2004; Sohail et al., 2004; Maloni and Carter, 2006; Yeung et al., 2006; Selviaridis and Spring, 2007; Trentin, 2011; Marchet et al., 2016; Mehmann and Teuteberg, 2016). The most frequent references to the topic since the 1990s are mostly American and British, but researchers from Northern European countries such as Sweden and Norway have also been publishing their scientific findings related to the sector since the turn of millennium (Murphy and Daley, 2001; Hertz and Alfredsson, 2003; Markides and Holweg, 2006; Lukassen and Wallenburg, 2010; Huemer, 2012). LSPs are required to continuously sustain a more and more competitive cost structure (i.e. efficiency) and develop capabilities to improve their services (i.e. innovation); hence the evaluation of these key success factors is considered a key issue (Marchet et al., 2016). Moreover, economic and social benefits and the effects of virtual enterprises for customers and production companies and service providers are essential for virtual enterprises, see (Kovács and Kot, 2017). Key Success Factors and Performance Many LSPs have taken initiatives to broaden the scope of their services in order to satisfy fully the increasing requirements of customers for one-stop services (Murphy and Daley, 2001). A major decision concerns the extent to which they should improve their service performance and expand their service capability (Lai and Cheng, 2003). Performance measurement is an important approach in the logistics service supply chain (LSSC), which can improve the competitiveness of the overall supply chain. The complicated measurement system includes various quantitative and qualitative indices, with undefined problems (Gong and Yan, 2015). Several key success factors have been proposed in the 3PL literature to judge performance. Examples include long-term relationships and building a history of favourable experiences (La Londe and Powers, 1993). After adopting a general service firm's perspective on studying LSPs, Berglund (2000) identified 2018 Vol.17 No.1 POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 178 four LSP value creation modes with associated value drivers, namely: operational efficiency, integration of customer operations, supply chain management and integration, and vertical or horizontal network development. Busse and Wallenburg (2014) noted that collaboration is an important value creation mode. Liu et al. (2010) and Brodbeck et al. (2010) developed and empirically examined 13 firmspecific capability constructs based on a survey of Chinese LSPs by drawing on work from economics and strategy on firm-level competitiveness, particularly the resource-based view. In this study, networking factors include IT, service networks and marketing; strategic factors include corporate culture, innovation, strategic management and human resource management; and operational factors include service quality, customer relationship management, operations management, inventory management, business process management and cost management. The business performance of an LSP and distribution centre (DC) is significantly affected by operational efficiency (Huo and Zhao, 2015; Ślusarczyk, 2017). The identification of the management success factors supporting the fundamental abilities of the competitiveness of Hungarian logistics enterprises (Figure 1) is an essential step in the development of the enterprises in the target group. Figure 1. Enterprise Competitiveness Model (based on Chikán, 2013) The competitiveness of enterprises is determined by their operating capability, their ability to change and their performance (Oláh et al., 2017). This correlation is illustrated by Figure 1. The ability to change and flexibility have a significant role in the competitiveness model. Current Hungarian and international social, economic and political impacts, changes and trends were explored in order to lay the foundations of the research. In addition, this paper established the groups of success factors based on the observations made, and the conclusions drawn, from discussions with the managers POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 2018 Vol.17 No.1 179 of various Hungarian LSP enterprises, as well as the results of meetings with professional academics (Figure 2). Furthermore, this research was established by using these bases and by looking for correlations between abilities and ‘success factors’, as well as by grouping the various factors, such as: 1. Trust – degree of success – flexibility (trust refers to the examination of the fundamental factor of relationships within a given enterprise and also between cooperating enterprises, looking for the role of the manager in establishing a trustful atmosphere). 2. Time – service portfolio – flexibility (time-based competition of products and services, supply chains, the composition and profitability of the service portfolio). 3. Searching for the proper enterprise scale – acquisitions – strategies (including the method of searching for economies of scale (market) in the LSP segment to be examined, and the role of choosing a strategy). 4. The correlation between the degree of integration of LSPs in the supply chain – the impact of (special) IT solutions and developments – and flexibility, as well as its impact on the financial results of the enterprise. Figure 2. Forces Acting on LSPs and the Abilities needed to ensure their Competitiveness in the Recent Period (while considering the success factors which are related to performance and degree of success) By grouping success factors based on revealed impacts, changes, trends and experiences, the research objectives were formulated, as the following: C1: Investigate and analyze the role of trust and the impact of its level on the revenue, pre-tax results and flexibility of logistics service companies. Within this, look at the role of the chief executive in within-firm and between-firm relationships 2018 Vol.17 No.1 POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 180 (trust levels), and hence his/her leading role in the sales, pre-tax results and flexibility of logistics service companies. C2: Investigate and analyze the service portfolio of logistics service providers, their profitability-based diversification and its impact on the revenue, pre-tax results andflexibility of logistics service providers. C3: Investigate and analyze the impact of acquisitions made in the search for company size on the sales, pre-tax results and future strategy of logistics companies. C4: Investigate and analyze the role and significance of sector-specific IT developments on the sales revenue of logistical providers, their pre-tax results, the impact on their flexibility and their integration. In formulating the hypotheses, the key factors shaping success need to be taken into account, and their impact and their relationship need to be examined in terms of the competitiveness of logistics service companies (including breaking them down into the following elements: performance, operations and capacity to change). The following hypotheses (HP) have been formulated: HP 1: The trust level of an LSP within the enterprise influences the revenue and earnings before tax. HP 2: The internal trust level established by an LSP influences the flexibility of the examined logistics enterprises. HP 3: The trust level of the business environment created by the chief executive of a logistics enterprise influences the revenue and earnings before tax, as well as the flexibility of the examined enterprise. HP 4.1: Pre-tax profitability of logistics service providers is determined by the service portfolio's profitability-based diversification. HP 4.2: Revenue-based diversification of the service portfolio by logistics service providers has an impact on corporate flexibility. HP 5.1: Growth through acquisitions (economies of scale) better supports the growth of logistical service providers' income and pre-tax profits than organic growth. HP 5.2: A medium-term, growth-committed strategy is more conducive to the growth of pre-tax profitability of logistics service providers than other strategies. HP 6.1: The revenue and earnings before tax of LSPs depend on the sector-specific IT developments implemented by the enterprise. HP 6.2: The degree of integration of LSPs into the supply chain depends on the sector-specific IT developments performed by the enterprise. HP 6.3: The sector-specific IT development level of LSPs has an impact on the flexibility of enterprises. POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 2018 Vol.17 No.1 181 Research Methodology A list of around 300 Hungarian LSPs was compiled from information provided by the professional organisations contacted by us before starting the research, as well as official sources which can be accessed in the trade press (IFKA, 2013). From this list the target group was selected, including enterprises with revenue (net sales) of at least EUR 100 thousand, but not higher than EUR 100 million per year. This group consists of 284 LSP enterprises. Thirteen per cent of the interviewed LSPs were established in 1990, when several entrepreneurs decided to set up their own companies due to the political and economic restructuring. 36 of the 56 enterprises examined were founded as firms involved in international road transport activity. More than 50% of the examined LSPs were engaged in domestic road and international road transport of goods or road forwarding services directly after their establishment. Thirty-two per cent of the newly-established LSPs were primarily involved in warehousing activities. The following activities ranged between 10%- 20%: railway transport and/or forwarding, air freight and/or forwarding, water freight and/or forwarding, transport and/or forwarding of containers, custom-house agent activities, transport and/or forwarding of oversized goods, logistics activities outsourced by clients inside or outside the factory yard, freight insurance and logistics consultancy. Seventy-five per cent of the enterprises involved in the research were primarily Hungarian-owned. The geographical distribution (Budapest and non-Budapest) was drawn up to illustrate the basic and sample population of the research data, showing the regional location of the Hungarian logistics enterprises based on the available data, for the purpose of providing geographical representativeness. The regional locations, categorised into two NUTS 3 counties, properly show the ‘identity’ of distributions and verify representativeness. Also, representativeness is further confirmed by the test results of the basic and sample population of the research data obtained, as well as the similarity of the histograms illustrating distributions. The test results obtained led us to conclude that neither of the two distributions are normal (p<0.001 in both cases) and that the two distributions are very similar indeed, based on the examined parameters. Furthermore, neither the sample-based, nor the population-based distribution can be regarded as normal (their parameters differ), but the graph shows that the pointedness of both distributions are similar, bending to the left and stretching to the right. Accordingly, the conclusion can be drawn that the curves of both the examined population and the sample are similar to each other (even though they deviate from the normal curve). F test statistics further verify similarity, since the variance of the two variables can be regarded as similar (F = 2.213; p =0.138). During the compilation of the questionnaire, we considered the need to extract the answers to the questions posed by the hypotheses. GfK Hungary Market Research Institute contributed significantly to the structure of the questionnaire, we created the professional content, and the possible response forms and types were greatly influenced by the data quality and type that can be managed and expected 2018 Vol.17 No.1 POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 182 by the evaluation software (SPSS). Questionnaires were completed using the Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) method. The internet-based questionnaire technique provided an effective research background for this target group by allowing respondents to answer questions on delicate corporate issues (financial issues, role of suppliers, etc.) more honestly, as the interviewee’s response was not affected by the presence of the interviewer. In addition, it was an advantage that more precise answers could be given, as the questions were read by the interviewees themselves, and they could check the accuracy of their responses. There was no time limit for answering the questionnaire and the respondents were able to look at the precise data and to think about the questions. A 51-item questionnaire was put together for the target group to confirm or reject our research questions. The first 14 questions were related to the characteristics of the company. The following 30 questions included trust issues (questions 1-2 dealing with business confidence, 3-11 with trust within the industrial sector, 12-19 with trust within the company, 20-23 with membership(s) of organizational bodies, and 24-30 with strategy). The penultimate part dealt with the service portfolio (16), while the last 6 questions asked about the characteristics of the leader of the company. The authors of this research pre-tested the questionnaire in ten companies representative of the different environments present in the sampled population. The main objective of this pre-test was to verify the appropriateness of the questionnaire. Hence, this analysis assessed the difficulties faced by the respondents in understanding the questions, in retrieving the required quantitative information and eventual ambiguities in the questions. The net revenue and earnings before tax of all 51 responding LSPs for the period between 2004 and 2011 were used to examine the research questions. The total revenue of the respondents was HUF 127,657.51 million in 2011, a year for which stable statistical data were provided. This value is more than 50% of the total annual revenue of all logistics enterprises in 2012. Based on the above, it can be stated that the sample primarily reflects the opinions of market participants with higher revenue. Our sample represents the opinions of big companies in the sector, because of the relatively low response rate and their high share in the revenue of the industry. At the same time, as shown above, the regional distribution of the sample corresponded to the distribution of the base population. Results The hypotheses were justified using the results of the empirical research. The results of research on the development of the logistics service providers, the appearance of their categories and development of their characteristics, as well as the substantiated hypotheses, have brought new scientific findings. HP1: The level of corporate trust in logistics companies has an impact on corporate revenue and pre-tax profit. The hypothesis was justified using POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 2018 Vol.17 No.1 183 the results of the empirical research. We have verified whether there were any significant differences in the level of trust in each of the categories related to profitability. To do this, we investigated the variances of each category. In describing internal trust, we used variables to judge the overall atmosphere of trust within the company and its aspects. Based on the tests and calculations, the hypothesis is partially correct and the thesis (T) can be formulated. T1: Increased trust within logistics companies (related to the staff) creates a positive change in the company's pre-tax profit. As a recommendation, leadership tools (involvement, delegation, advertising an open door program, etc.) can be used, which allow the staff to increase trust levels from the chief executive right through the company. Figure 3. Effects of Management Success Factors and their Relationship to the Competitiveness of Logistics Companies HP 2: The internal trust level created by logistics service companies has an impact on the flexibility of the logistics companies investigated. We first checked whether there was a relationship between the level of internal trust and the flexibility of companies, and if so, how close and of what nature it was. For this we examined the variance of internal trust in the very low and very high categories. We found that general internal trust has different variances in the individual flexibility categories. This meant that there was a significant relationship between the two variables. The results of further calculations showed that although there was a significant relationship between the overall internal trust built by the logistics companies and the flexibility of the organization, the relationship is non-linear, 2018 Vol.17 No.1 POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 190 of the results. Another limitation of this research is the low response rate among LSPs. As regards the more distant future, this research, the previous research findings and the trends to be drawn lead to the conclusion that the future of LSPs potentially lies not only in ‘lifting the borders between LSPs and those using these services’, but even transforming LSPs into ‘organisations sans frontiers’, to form a so-called LSP supply chain. The future of LSPs will be determined by the interaction of the service provider and those using these services. LSPs in Hungary should not expect to develop their flexibility from sector-specific or any kind of IT investment, but rather from the approach of their colleagues and the level of trust of the business environment established by the chief executive (Oláh et al., 2017b; Oláh et al., 2017c). To sum up, new sets of skills required for 3PL providers are emerging, above all the capability to propose innovative solutions and offer more complex and customer tailored services (Colin et al. 2011). The latter effectively support LSPs in finding their management success factors, which enable them to fully satisfy the demands of their customers in the supply chain. The further development of the research methodology applied is a new direction of research, which enables comparison analysis of LSPs all around the world to be made, thereby exploring new findings through the examination of the target group in order to gain a clearer understanding of this field of science. 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Wu Y., 2012, A dual-response strategy for global logistics under uncertainty: a case study of a third-party logistics company, “International Transactions in Operational Research”, 19. WPŁYW CZYNNIKÓW SUKCESU ZARZĄDZANIA DOSTAWCÓW USŁUG LOGISTYCZNYCH NA KONKURENCYJNOŚĆ FIRM Streszczenie: Badania dotyczą kompleksowej analizy czynników sukcesu zarządzania dostawców usług logistycznych przy użyciu nowego podejścia i analizują funkcjonowanie firm świadczących usługi logistyczne. Dane zostały zebrane od 51 dostawców usług logistycznych na Węgrzech. Przy formułowaniu hipotez wzięliśmy pod uwagę czynniki sukcesu zarządzania i zbadaliśmy ich wpływ na czynniki konkurencyjności przedsiębiorstw usług logistycznych oraz zależności między nimi (w tym ich rozkład pod względem wydajności, działania i zdolności do zmiany). Podsumowując, wymieniając w kolejności czynniki sukcesu biznesu, stwierdzono, że zaufanie jest czynnikiem najważniejszym, na kolejnych miejscach znalazły się: sektorowy rozwój IT, wybór strategii i portfel usług oraz dywersyfikacja oparta na rentowności. Kolejność i wielkość rozwoju tych obszarów może mieć znaczący wpływ na rozwój i wyniki finansowe czynników determinujących konkurencyjność firm logistycznych. Wyniki naszych badań mogą skutecznie wspierać dostawców usług logistycznych w znajdowaniu czynników sukcesu ich działalności, co pozwoli im w pełni zaspokoić oczekiwania klientów w łańcuchu dostaw. Słowa kluczowe: dostawcy usług logistycznych, współpraca, wartość relacji, konkurencyjność, czynnik sukcesu POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Oláh J., Sadaf R., Máté D., Popp J. 2018 Vol.17 No.1 193 物流服务商管理成功因素对企业竞争力的影响 摘要：我们的研究采用一种新方法对物流服务供应商的管理成功因素进行全面研究 ，并考察了物流服务公司的生活。数据来自匈牙利51个物流服务提供商。在制定假 设时，我们考虑了管理成功因素，并考察了它们对物流服务公司竞争力影响因素及 其影响（包括在绩效，运营和变革能力方面的影响）。为了总结和列出业务的成功 因素，我们发现信任是第一个，特定部门的IT发展第二，第三个是战略的选择，第 四个是服务组合和基于盈利的多样化。这些领域的发展顺序和数量可能会对决定物 流公司竞争力的因素的发展和财务结果产生重大影响。我们的研究结果可以有效地 支持物流服务供应商找到他们的业务成功因素，这将使他们能够充分满足客户在供 应链中的期望。 关键词：物流服务商合作关系价值竞争力成功因素