4PL Digital Business Models in Sea Freight Logistics: The Case of FreightHub
Read this case study of a 4PL model.
Conclusions
Contribution, Limitations, and Future Research Avenues
The
present study contributes to theory and practice by refining business
model research in the maritime transportation context, and providing
managerial implications about the opportunities and threats of a digital
transition in this industry. However, despite its valuable insights,
this study has some limitations, which may be addressed by future
research. While aiming to complete the picture of how digital business
models may impact maritime freight transportation, it was not possible
to extensively consider all parts of the SC while analyzing FreightHub's
documentation. Another limitation found in qualitative research, is the
limited number of cases, which prevents the findings from being
generalized. This limitation is explained by small and idiosyncratic
samples within case studies, where data is predominantly non-numerical,
thus leaving little chances to establish the probability that the data
is representative of some larger population, or for the other branches. This limitation implies the generalizability of the research
findings being limited, which was also highlighted by Chiarini, who
used a case study within a SME with lean production at an early stage
of application. Therefore, future studies in other business models or
organizational situations must test these results using survey research.
Additional investigations of the links between the developed
conceptualization and classical management theory will also more fully
define the connections between the connections between the constructs
evaluated in this paper. Future research might also tackle the link
between business models and scenario analysis to further inform
transformation pathways in this context.