Supply Chain Expedience: Unraveling the Double Helix of Delivery Delays

Abstract

We build on a metaphor where supply chain delivery delays result from the intertwined double helix of motor carrier errors and driver errors. Agency theory provides a foundation for understanding the relationship between a shipping company, a motor carrier and a truck driver, in cargo transportation in a supply chain. However, agency theory’s moral hazard construct is insufficient for fully explaining delays in this context. We integrate the literature on organizational expedience with agency theory to develop an explanation for actions by an agent that knowingly breaks rules in order to support both its own interests and the principal’s goals, further speculating that the principal may turn a blind eye to such actions. The cognitive science literature is then used to develop an understanding of motor carrier errors and truck driver errors, to develop hypotheses based on expedience as a way of compensating for motor carrier and truck driver errors. Logit analysis and survival analysis, using a Cox proportional hazards model and ROC curve, are used to analyze an archival data set of over 200,000 recent supply chain deliveries at a Fortune 500 company, which we linked to data about motor carrier behavior and truck driver behavior in a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) database. The results are relevant to shipping companies that rely on large trucks to transport their cargo, motor carriers providing transportation services and academics seeking to understand the nuances of agency relationships in supply chains and interested in incorporating archival data into their research.