Platform ecological circle for cold chain logistics enterprises: the value co-creation analysis
| Date | 01 January 2020 |
| Pages | 675-691 |
| Published date | 01 January 2020 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-10-2019-0531 |
| Author | Benhong Peng,Yuanyuan Wang,Sardar Zahid,Guo Wei,Ehsan Elahi |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems,Knowledge management,Knowledge sharing,Management science & operations,Supply chain management,Supply chain information systems,Logistics,Quality management/systems |
Platform ecological circle for cold
chain logistics enterprises: the
value co-creation analysis
Benhong Peng
Binjiang College, Nanjing University of Information Engineering, Wuxi, China and
School of Management Science and Engineering,
Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
Yuanyuan Wang
School of Management Science and Engineering,
Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
Sardar Zahid
Department of Management Sciences,
COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
Guo Wei
Department of Mathematics & Computer Science,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, North Carolina, USA, and
Ehsan Elahi
School of Business, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology,
Nanjing, China
Abstract
Purpose –The purposeof this paper is to proposea framework of value co-creationin platform ecologicalcircle
for coldchain logistics enterprisesto guide the transformationand development of coldchain logistics industry.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper establishes a conceptual framework for the research on the
platform ecological circle in cold chain logistics, utilizes a structural equation model to investigate the
influencing factors of the value co-creation of the platform ecological circle in the cold chain logistics
enterprises and elaborates the internal relations between different influencing factors regarding the value co-
creation and enterprises’performance.
Findings –Results show that resource sharing in logistics platform ecological circle can stimulate the
interaction among enterprises and this produces a positive influence on their dynamic capabilities, which, in
turn, affects the they to work together to plan, implement and solve problems, so as to achieve the goal of
improving enterprise performance.
Practical implications –The shared resources and value co-creation activities in the platform ecological
circle are very important for the transformation and development of cold chain logistics enterprises.
Therefore, enterprises should promote value co-creation through realizing resource sharing and creating a
win-win cooperation mechanism.
Originality/value –This paper targetsat incorporating the resourcesharing in platform ecologicalcircle for
cold chain logisticsenterprises, explores from an empirical perspectivethe role of the resource sharing in cold
chain logisticsenterprises in enhancing the dynamic capabilitiesof enterprises, thereby encouraging the value
co-creation behavior, and ultimately boostsenterprise performance and stimulatesbusiness development.
Keywords Value co-creation, Cold chain logistics enterprises, Enterprise dynamic capability,
Platform ecological circle
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
With the fast increase of consumption levels, the demand for fresh produce grows rapidly
and steadily, resulting in the cold chain logistics to emerge. According to the statistics from
China’s Logistics and Purchasing Network in 2015, the estimated total annual volume of the
Received 8 October 2019
Revised 29 November 2019
4 December 2019
Accepted 13 December 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0263-5577.htm
Cold chain
logistics
enterprises
IndustrialManagement& Data
Systems
Vol.120 No. 4,2020
pp.675-691
©EmeraldPublishingLimited
0263-5577
DOI10.1108/IMDS-10-2019-0531
675
cold chain logistics is between 3.5 and 4.5 trillion yuan, indicating a growth rate of
22 percent for the cold chain. This evidence supports that, at least partially, the cold chain
logistics in China appears in its transit stage. According to the China Federation of
Logistics and Purchasing, China’s existing refrigeration capacity, at present, accounts for
only 20–30 percent of the demand for goods (Yuan et al., 2015). Along with the Chinese
Government’s current supporting policies and future emphases (Yuan et al., 2015), there will
be an enormous room for the logistics to further expand.
However, when compared with more advanced cold chain logistics worldwide, such a
system in China is relatively backward. Foreign cold chain logistics systems, especially
developed countries in Europe and America, have been developed quite mature
and perfect. For example, in the process of transportation, all refrigerated trucks or
refrigerators are used, and advanced management information technology is used to
establish a frozen and cold chain of fresh materials including production, processing,
storage, transportation and sales (Wu, 2011). China’s refrigeration technology and
equipment facilities are relatively trailing, even without an overall planning and
integration, leading to a large loss of perishable food, and the entire logistics cost accounts
for 70 percent of the cost of perishable goods; however, according to the international
standards, the logistics cost of perishable goods should not exceed 50 percent of the total
cost (Wu, 2011).
The third-party logistics is lagging behind, and industry lacks standardized
management practices. It is estimated that only 15 percent of the products that require
temperature control intervention in China are currently operated in the correct manner.
Only 10 percent of vehicles transporting perishable foods are equipped with refrigeration
or refrigeration equipment, compared with 90 percent in developed countries (Wu and
Chen, 2013).
In addition, sizes of the cold chain logistics enterprises are relatively smaller. According
to the statistics released by China Federation of Cold Chain Committee, in 2015, the total
income of China’s Top 100 enterprises was less than 10 percent of the cold chain market.
However, the Top five US cold storage enterprises accounted for about 63 percent of the
market (Yin, 2018).
There is an unambiguous shortage of management systems and professional training.
China’s third-party logistics enterprises have an average of 34 percent of graduates with a
bachelor’s degree or above, and only 15.2 percent with a master’s degree or above. In
contrast, the US Federal Government pays great attention to the scientific research
investment and talent cultivation, the logistics managers with a bachelor’s degree account
for about 92 percent of all logistics managers, 41 percent had master’s degrees and
21 percent had formal warehousing, distribution engineers and other professional
qualification certificates (Chen and Li, 2013).
In summary, China’s cold chain logistics enterprises are still in their early development
stage, and there exists a huge space to grow.
On the other hand, in the era of big data, traditional business models must also adapt to
the needs of the times and explore a new development way. The emergence of
service-oriented logic also shows a sign of change from the traditional way of thinking to the
logic of value co-creation. At the same time, customers have increasingly high requirements
on cold chain logistics, such as traceability requirements for products (Óskarsdóttir and
Oddsson, 2019; Tsang et al., 2019), demand for food quality (Xiao et al., 2019), all these
make the cold chain logistics industry face severe challenges. For this reason, some
emerging technologies such as ant colony algorithm (Zhang et al., 2019), Internet of Things
(Tsang et al., 2018) and model simulation (Ali et al., 2018) have been adopted by scholars to
actively improve the quality of cold chain food, optimize the operation process and reduce
the risk of cold chain logistics. But these are far from enough, cold chain logistics enterprises
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