Abstract
Modal shift to more energy-efficient alternatives, such as from road to rail or sea, is one path to reduce negative environmental effects. Transport providers and shippers have crucial roles in modal choice decisions, and a better understanding of the influence of interorganisational factors on modal shift is needed. The purpose is to increase the understanding of opportunities for modal shifts by exploring the influence of power and trust at the interface between transport providers and shippers. Aspects of power (coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referent) and trust (contractual, competence and goodwill) influencing modal shifts were identified from interviews with shippers and transport providers in Sweden. During the initiation phase of modal shift, power appears more important, while trust is shown essential for the duration. By proactively suggesting modal shift, transport providers can use expert power to create rewards and referent power, through recognition of their expertise. Building trust, particularly goodwill trust, such as time invested in understanding the other party, transparency about challenges and jointly seeking solutions, is key to establish long-term modal shifts. This paper contributes to modal shift literature with insights on power balances and trust between transport providers and shippers.
Highlights
Our findings indicate that shippers’ trust in transport providers is crucial for them to agree to a modal shift, and that transport providers’ trust in shippers was important for investing in the relationship and arranging the transport
Based on interviews with shippers and transport providers, the findings suggest that both power and trust do influence the possibilities for achieving a modal shift, and that there are interdependencies between them
The findings illustrate that power and trust appear to have different influences on modal shifts during the initiation phase and the duration phase of the change
Summary
A modal shift from road to more energy-efficient transport modes, such as rail and sea, is one prioritised strategy for coping with sustainability goals [1,2]. Research shows additional benefits of modal shift, such as the cost effectiveness of despeeding logistics [4], or the cost and delivery times reductions gained from synchromodal solutions, which can include modal shift to rail and sea [5]. The further use of rail and sea transport should be attractive for companies’ environmental work. Despite many incentives for change, the modal shift from road to rail and sea is still slow. European modal split figures for 2016 show a slight decrease since 1995 in the use of rail, inland waters and sea for transportation in comparison with road [6]
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