Transportation extended wastes and road haulage efficiency

Abstract

PurposeAlthough recent research acknowledges the importance of reducing the inefficient activities from road transportation, there is still a missing link in literature of how transportation extended wastes impact road haulers efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between waste reduction practices (WRP) and fleet operational efficiency (FOE) in road hauler firms.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model was developed to assess this relationship. The authors test the model with a sample from logistics companies providing road haulage services in the Middle East, providing a contribution to extant literature from a different setting.FindingsResults suggest that WRP have a positive and significant impact on FOE. A valuable scale for the measurement of operational efficiency was developed and validated, representing an index toward the most efficient organization.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study serves as a tool for shippers to benchmark the efficiency levels of their motor carrier service providers against each other, considering that segmentation is a relevant issue to understand the choice in favor of a given provider to the detriment of another. Furthermore, road haulers can use the efficiency measurements as a basis for establishing future action plans to adopt waste reduction practices.Originality/valueThe research deals with a newly emerging stream of research on linking waste practices to road transport. The authors contribute to this developing body of research through filling a gap in the link between waste and road transport operational performance. The research is also different from recent literature in that the authors provide insights from a larger population, unlike other similar studies who used VSM and studied only a particular case. Thus, the work is important to generalize the findings, especially that the authors provide a perspective from a non-western perspective.