Title: Key antecedents to achieving flexibility in maritime logistics industry: empirical evidence from China

Authors: Xiaohui Jia; Zhongzhen Yang

Addresses: College of Shipping Economics and Management, Dalian Maritime University, 303 Management Building B, 1 Linghai Road, Dalian 116026, China ' Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, 622 Building 1, Meishan, Ningbo 315832, China

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to recognise key antecedents which are absolutely necessary to achieving flexibility in maritime logistics industry. Methodologically, personal interview and a three-round Delphi survey are used for data collection. We test the key antecedents and derive a ranking of the importance of these antecedents. These findings allowed us to build a model of key antecedents to flexibility in the industry. The canonical correlation analysis reveals that the interrelationships among sets of key antecedents are positive and strong. The results offer managerial insights for companies in the industry to improve their responsibility to uncertainty.

Keywords: antecedents; canonical correlation analysis; CCA; China; flexibility; maritime logistics; the Delphi technique; z-statistic.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTL.2020.109884

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 2020 Vol.12 No.5, pp.399 - 425

Received: 16 Jul 2018
Accepted: 13 Mar 2019
Published online: 29 Sep 2020 *

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