Avocados Crossing Borders: The Problem of Runaway Objects and the Solution of a Shipping Information Pipeline for Improving International Trade

TY - JOUR

T1 - Avocados Crossing Borders

T2 - The Problem of Runaway Objects and the Solution of a Shipping Information Pipeline for Improving International Trade

AU - Jensen, Thomas

AU - Vatrapu, Ravi

AU - Bjørn-Andersen, Niels

N1 - Published online: 14. august 2017

PY - 2018/3

Y1 - 2018/3

N2 - This paper investigates the case of shipments of containers with avocados from farmers in Africa to grocery store shelves in the European Union. We find 3 predominant challenges to containerized shipping that effectively become trade barriers: international trade cost, lead time uncertainty, and security risks. We use activity theory to describe, understand, and analyze the shipping activity in the international trade ecosystem with focus on physical objects and their related information. We find that the shipment becomes problematic and can be characterized as a runaway object in the heterogeneous and multiple organizational setting of international trade. Our analysis of shipping reveals (1) inefficient collaboration across loosely coupled activity systems and (2) fragmented information infrastructures. We propose the solution of Shipping Information Pipeline, a shared information infrastructure, thus facilitating collaboration in containerized shipping and contributing to lowering trade barriers. Shipping Information Pipeline can significantly improve containerized shipping resulting in estimated potential benefits of up to 4.7% growth in global GDP.

AB - This paper investigates the case of shipments of containers with avocados from farmers in Africa to grocery store shelves in the European Union. We find 3 predominant challenges to containerized shipping that effectively become trade barriers: international trade cost, lead time uncertainty, and security risks. We use activity theory to describe, understand, and analyze the shipping activity in the international trade ecosystem with focus on physical objects and their related information. We find that the shipment becomes problematic and can be characterized as a runaway object in the heterogeneous and multiple organizational setting of international trade. Our analysis of shipping reveals (1) inefficient collaboration across loosely coupled activity systems and (2) fragmented information infrastructures. We propose the solution of Shipping Information Pipeline, a shared information infrastructure, thus facilitating collaboration in containerized shipping and contributing to lowering trade barriers. Shipping Information Pipeline can significantly improve containerized shipping resulting in estimated potential benefits of up to 4.7% growth in global GDP.

KW - Activity theory

KW - Containerized shipping

KW - Information infrastructures

KW - Knotworking

KW - Runaway object

KW - Mycorrhizae

KW - Activity theory

KW - Containerized shipping

KW - Information infrastructures

KW - Knotworking

KW - Runaway object

KW - Mycorrhizae

UR - https://sfx-45cbs.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/45cbs?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info:sid/sfxit.com:azlist&sfx.ignore_date_threshold=1&rft.object_id=954925615054&rft.object_portfolio_id=&svc.holdings=yes&svc.fulltext=yes

U2 - 10.1111/isj.12146

DO - 10.1111/isj.12146

M3 - Journal article

VL - 28

SP - 408

EP - 438

JO - Information Systems Journal

JF - Information Systems Journal

SN - 1350-1917

IS - 2

ER -