Courier Service Industry Research Articles

Power relations and market transformation in the transport sector: the example of the courier services industry

The courier services industry has developed rapidly in the last three decades. Formed in national niche markets, private sector corporations have grown to challenge one another and now to challenge deregulated state mail monopolies. In this paper we propose a ‘circuits of power’ framework to theorise the diversity, complexity and speed of this change. The framework derives from the work of Clegg (cf. Clegg, S., 1989. Frameworks of Power. Sage, London) and combines different conceptualisations of power to unpack the complex relationships of power and domination that have shaped the sector’s growth.