Identifying Relevant Variables and Modelling the Choice Process in Freight Transportation
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Identifying Relevant Variables and Modelling the Choice Process in Freight Transportation By JOHN MANGAN1, CHANDRA LALWANI2 & BERNARD GARDNER2 1
Irish Management Institute, Sandyford Road, Dublin 16, Ireland. E-mail: [email protected]; 2Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
There is a substantial literature dealing with both the pertinent factors in freight transport choice, and the various approaches to modelling freight transport choice. Furthermore, that literature is spread across a range of journals from a number of disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to review and summarise that literature with a view to offering: (1) an up to date description of the variables which are currently considered relevant in transport choice decision making; and (2) a critique of the various modelling approaches and suggest what the optimum approach might be. This paper is based on an extensive review of the literature from 1972 to 2000 and concludes that a variety of factors impact upon the decision making context thus necessitating a holistic view to be taken of transport choice. In particular, the increasing trend towards outsourcing (which in turn impacts upon the locus of the choice decision) and the increased adoption of logistics and supply chain management practices impact considerably on transport choice decision making. It is also concluded that a process-oriented model, which takes a holistic view of the freight transport choice process, is likely to give the greatest insight into the choice process. As appropriate, input- and output-oriented techniques can also be employed to augment such a model. Furthermore, it is suggested that particular attention should be given to correctly identifying the actual choice variables: otherwise the output of any choice model will not accurately reflect the actual practice of decision makers. International Journal of Maritime Economics (2001) 3, 278-297.
Keywords: Freight transport; transport choice; transport modelling.
John Mangan et al. Freight Transport Choice
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INT RODUCT ION The literature on transport choice and modelling is rooted in many diverse subject areas including, inter alia, transportation, logistics, management science, econometrics, marketing, maritime economics, decision theory, etc. West (1988), for example, noted that the literature on carrier selection is to be found in areas as diverse as geography, transportation economics, regional science, civil engineering, marine policy, logistics and decision theory. This obviously presents special challenges to researchers which it is hoped this paper will in some small measure help overcome. This paper begins with a review of the literature on the many and varied variables considered in freight transport choice, what D'Este (1992a) referred to as the decision making ingredients. The literature on the transport choice process, and more particularly the context within which transport choice decisions are made, is next considered. The literature on the various approaches to modelling
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