Influence of Coopetition and Freight Consolidation on Sustainable Distribution

Abstract

Logisticians in the field of freight movement and transportation have argued for 'sustainable freight distribution' through triple bottom line approach. Potential solutions identified are co-opetition, freight consolidation and collaborative freight distribution which appear to have limited academic investigation of their influence on sustainability. This paper investigates this gap in current sustainable freight distribution literature. Measures of coopetition, freight consolidation, collaborative freight distribution, and sustainable distribution were embodied in a survey distributed to newspaper firms, transporters and newsagents in context of Thailand. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Results show that firms who perceive to leverage co-opetition, freight consolidation and collaborative freight distribution approach will achieve a significant sustainable logistics distribution. Managerial initiatives should be directed at developing co-opetition and freight consolidation strategies and leveraging it for a collaborative freight distribution that can lead to sustainable distribution in supply chain.