Organisation of multilateral LTL alliances

In the less-than-truckload (LTL) market, alliances of smaller logistics service providers successfully compete with large, integrated logistics corporations. However, such alliances are often seen as an inferior governance mode in terms of establishing and operating cost-efficient production structu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of logistics 2012-06, Vol.15 (3), p.181-198
Main Authors: Albers, Sascha, Klaas-Wissing, Thorsten
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
alliance organisation
Alliances
Business
cooperation
Corporate governance
Freight forwarding
Guidelines
less than truckload
Logistics
logistics service provider
Marketing
Markets
Multilateral
organisational design
Organizational behavior
Sheds
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Summary:In the less-than-truckload (LTL) market, alliances of smaller logistics service providers successfully compete with large, integrated logistics corporations. However, such alliances are often seen as an inferior governance mode in terms of establishing and operating cost-efficient production structures. Because little is known about the organisation of such multilateral LTL alliances, this paper conceptualises and explores their cooperative organisation and offers tentative explanations for their specific organisational design. Two in-depth cases have made it possible to analyse the specific organisational arrangements of two successful but contrasting German LTL alliances. The findings shed light on LTL alliance design alternatives and their effectiveness conditions and can serve as a guideline for alliance evaluation and design in the LTL business.
ISSN:1367-5567
1469-848X
DOI:10.1080/13675567.2012.709836