The impacts of trust and contracts on opportunism in the 3PL industry: The moderating role of demand uncertainty

B. Huo (First Author), Xiande Zhao (Participant Author), Y. Ye (Participant Author)

科研成果: 期刊稿件期刊论文

摘要

Logistics outsourcing has become an important strategy for companies seeking to gain a competitive advantage. However, opportunistic behavior often arises in the process of outsourcing, and such behavior can damage the collaborative relationships between third-party logistics (3PL) providers and users. By applying the lenses of transaction cost economics, social exchange theory and contingency theory, this study investigates how transactional (i.e., contracts) and relational safeguards (i.e., trust) curb opportunism under demand uncertainty. The data were collected from 247 manufacturing and service industries in China. The results show that trust and detailed contracts mitigate opportunism directly, but contract application aggravates the hazards of opportunism. In addition, demand uncertainty moderates the relationship between contract application and opportunism. Trust, however, both enhances contract application and enables detailed contracts. Therefore, trust indirectly enhances opportunism through contract application and indirectly reduces opportunism through detailed contracts. This study provides theoretical contributions and managerial insights for 3PL relationship management.
源语言英语
页(从-至)160-170
期刊International Journal of Production Economics
170
DOI
出版状态已出版 - 2015

Corresponding author email

xiande@ceibs.edu

关键词

  • China
  • Contracts
  • Opportunism
  • Third-party logistics
  • Trust

成果物的来源

  • ABDC-A*
  • Scopus

指纹

探究 'The impacts of trust and contracts on opportunism in the 3PL industry: The moderating role of demand uncertainty' 的科研主题。它们共同构成独一无二的指纹。

引用此