Core Competencies and Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Air-Cargo Forwarding: Evidence from Taiwan

This study seeks to identify core competencies in the air-cargo forwarding industry to better understand what contributes to a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). The firms' resources, including staff capabilities, customer service, and the like, as well as external factors, such as strategic alliances, all positively influence SAC. Among capabilities, staff expertise is critical, and among external factors, strategic alliances are key elements. With the air cargo business in Asia expected to continue to expand rapidly, including intra-Asia air cargo, forwarding services in this region are expected to experience tremendous demand. Entry barriers are low in terms of capital and operating costs, which means that international freight forwarders already in the market must consistently out-perform new entrants. This study uses the resource-based view (RBV) of firms to assess the areas where performance is crucial in such a setting. Methodology and hypotheses are presented, along with results. Managerial implications are discussed. Because resources for the study limited its scope to 137 firms, the authors suggest broader surveys in the future to further refine findings and take more factors into account.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1588960
• Authors:
  • Cheng, Yung-Hsiang
  • Yeh, Chian-Yu
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 5-21
• Serial:
  • Transportation Journal
  • Volume: 46
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: American Society of Transportation and Logistics
  • ISSN: 0041-1612
  • Serial URL: http://www.jstor.org/page/journal/transportationj/about.html

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air cargo; Air freight forwarders; Competition; Economic models; Logistics; Resource allocation; Strategic planning
• Geographic Terms: Taiwan
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Economics; Freight Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01055887
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 3 2007 12:37PM