Power in third-party logistics relationships

Abstract

The logistics outsourcing industry develops and grows constantly. Companies choose to engage in different kinds of relationships ranging from short-term transaction oriented to long-term collaborative relationships. Companies entering in to relationships can be different in terms of power, therefore creating a power or dependence asymmetry. The relationships marketing literature generally acknowledge that power can influence the relationships in different ways such as through trust and commitment. Often the negative effects of power on relationships are discussed in the literature. Another perspective on power was presented by Davis &Mentzer (2006), which suggests that power can influence the relationships through service quality in B2B relationships. Howether, the issue of power in the context of third-party logistics has not received a substantial attention in the literature. Service quality is an important aspect of logistics services and therefore it is important to investigate the factors that can influence it. Therefore, this thesis will address the issue of power specifically, power influence on service quality, loyalty and relationships in the context of third party logistics. This thesis focuses on development of the theoretical foundation that can be used in future research to empirically investigate the issues of power. As a result of this thesis the theoretical framework and hypotheses have been developed. This thesis provides a first step towards answering the proposed research question by focusing on the theory.