Michael R. Crum

The role of leader-member exchange in high turnover work environments

Purpose – To assess the role of leader‐member exchange (LMX) in affecting voluntary turnover in a high turnover work context.Design/methodology/approach – Following consideration of traditional predictors of employee turnover, how LMX is related to voluntary turnover is examined among 207 over‐the‐road truck drivers using a telephone survey.Findings – Leader member exchange is found to be nonlinearly related to turnover such that turnover is lowest when LMX is moderate (i.e. both “bad” and “good” LMX are associated with higher levels of turnover).Research limitations/implications – Findings indicate that LMX and other antecedents should be examined for nonlinear relationships to turnover. This research may help to bridge the gap between turnover research and that associated with supervision and leadership.Practical implications – These study results suggest that unrealistic expectations should not be formed regarding the power of any single factor (e.g. LMX) to reduce turnover.Originality/value – This pap...

QUALITY MANAGEMENT INFLUENCES ON LOGISTICS PERFORMANCE

The importance of quality management practices in the achievement of operational results and customer satisfaction in logistics has been asserted in many studies. However, though widely adopted, quality management does not have a uniformly accepted framework as a basis for assessment of improvement efforts. This study develops quality management constructs and a casual model based on the criteria utilized in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Casual relationships between quality management factors and logistics outcomes, specifically logistics operational performance and customer service, are established. Implications of the findings for management are discussed.

Airport leakage and airline pricing strategy in single-airport regions

Travelers residing in communities having either small or medium-sized airports often avoid using the local airports in their regions, and use other (out-of-region) airports to take advantage of lower fares and more convenient airline services. This phenomenon is generally referred to as airport leakage. Airport leakage can exist even in regions where the nearest substitute (airport) is over 150 miles away (i.e., in single-airport regions). This paper argues that airlines may have under-estimated the airport-leakage tendencies of travelers in single-airport regions, and consequently their current airfares in these regions may be higher than the optimal, or revenue-maximizing, levels. To test the validity of this argument, a simulation experiment was conducted by using the data for Des Moines International Airport (DSM), a medium airport serving the single-airport region in central Iowa (USA). The results imply that, for most airlines, current airfares in DSM may be higher than the optimal, and that they may increase revenues (or profits) by reducing airfares in DSM.

IJPDLM's 40th anniversary: an overview and retrospective analysis

– The purpose is threefold: to assess International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Managements (IJPDLMs) reputation for quality and impact; to identify leading articles and authors during the journals 40‐year history; and to report on the international diversity of the journals author base and the diversity of its subject matter over the last five years., – The paper uses the following: literature review of recent journal articles that assessed the quality of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) journals; IJPDLM article download counts and article counts per author over last 40 years; and assessment of subject matter content and geographical base of authors for articles published in IJPDLM over the last five years., – IJPDLM consistently ranks among the top logistics and supply chain journals on the basis of research quality and usefulness. IJPDLM is quite diverse both with respect to logistics subject matter and to the location of its authors. The most popular topics over the last five years are: purchasing and supply management; inter‐organizational relationships; customer service and demand management; and logistics outsourcing/3PL. A key emerging research area for logistics and SCM is the disciplines contributions to addressing important societal issues., – The findings pertaining to current and emerging research areas will be of interest and value to all logistics and SCM researchers., – The analysis of IJPDLMs reputation and the assessment of the subject matter it covers are both original and of interest to prospective authors.

Truck Driving Environments and Their Influence on Driver Fatigue and Crash Rates

The development of a typology of commercial vehicle driving environments, estimate of the percentage of drivers falling into each type of driving environment, and driving environment effects on driver fatigue are described. A model of commercial motor vehicle driver fatigue, based on literature sources and focus groups of industry professionals, is proposed. Three driving-environment factors (regularity of time, trip control, and quality of rest), comprising 25 indicators, are included in the model. Data were collected via a nationwide survey of 502 randomly selected over-the-road commercial truck drivers. Data analysis revealed 12 driving-environment indicators to be good predictors of fatigue and crash outcomes. Various 2×2×2 driving-environment typologies were created by using different high-low combinations of these 12 indicators. A typology based on the single best predictors of fatigue and crash outcomes from each driving-environment factor was selected for examination (i.e., favorable and unfavorable combinations of driving the same hours, waiting longer than expected for loads, and starting the workweek tired). The percentage of drivers working in each type of driving environment ranged from 5.2 percent to 20.1 percent. Additionally, the typology was significantly related to frequency of close calls and perceptions of fatigue. The 12 driving-environment indicators collectively accounted for 5 percent and 23 percent of the variability in close calls and fatigue perceptions, respectively (p ≥ .001), and 2 percent of the variability in crash involvement (p ≥ .07). Implications for fatigue management are also discussed.

The US Motor Carrier Industry: The Extent and Nature of EDI Use

Estimates the extent to which electronic data interchange (EDI) is currently used in the motor carrier industry and examines motor carrier EDI issues. The analysis is based on data collected from a survey of 266 Class I and II motor carriers. The major findings include: the use of EDI industry‐wide is fairly significant in terms of freight revenues coming from EDI shippers; smaller motor carriers lag behind in the use of EDI; the motor carrier decision to implement EDI appears to be customer‐service – or marketing‐driven; and EDI use by motor carriers is evolving towards standardization. Suggests that further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the degree to which the trucking industry is sharing in the benefits of EDI use and the role which the smaller carrier will have in the growth of EDI use.

ORGANIZATIONAL AND UNION COMMITMENT AMONG RAILROAD EMPLOYEES

This study examines the relationship between union and organizational commitment among a sample of 1167 railroad employees from four of the seven largest Class I railroads in the U.S. Specifically, the study sought to determine whether union commitment and organizational commitment were contradictory, independent, or complementary forms of commitment. An examination of the association between union and organizational commitment on a variety of employee attitudes and work-related perceptions revealed the two forms of commitment to be independent. Results are discussed in light of the literature and the implications of each form of commitment on the rail industry.

The U.S. Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act: Implications for the Logistics Pipeline

U.S. Customs administration plays an important role in the structure and efficiency of international logistics. The Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act was passed in December 1993 with the objective of improving the efficiency of the U.S. customs process. The principle logistics benefits for the trade community and the means by which they are to be accomplished include faster clearance and lower transaction costs via increased automation and remote entry, and decreased congestion at ports of entry via a reduction in the number and complexity of formal entries. These gains are offset somewhat because some traditional Customs responsibilities have been shifted to importers of record. This will increase their compliance costs and penalty risk exposure. The key changes presented in the act and potential implications for the parties involved in the importing process are described.

Dedicated Truck Facilities as Solution to Capacity and Safety Issues on Rural Interstate Highway Corridors

This paper identifies the safety and operational benefits of constructing dedicated truck facilities on a rural Interstate corridor. The Interstate highway segment in the case study is a 164-mi section of I-80 from the Iowa–Illinois border to Altoona, Iowa (an eastern suburb of Des Moines, Iowa). Although many studies have considered constructing an additional lane on freeways and designating it for trucks only, this paper considers the construction of a separate four-lane, limited-access facility for trucks. The I-80 corridor was analyzed with the Highway Economic Requirements Software–state edition (HERS-ST) to measure the performance before and after trucks were removed from the general purpose lanes. Several benefit-to-cost ratios were calculated outside of HERS-ST to determine the economic feasibility (but not the financial feasibility) of constructing dedicated truck lanes. Since there are no similar truck-only facilities in the United States, it is unknown what proportion of motor carriers would choose to use a truck-only facility rather than the mixed-traffic lanes (general purpose lanes), and future policy may or may not require trucks to use parallel truck-only facilities. Therefore, a sensitivity analysis was conducted within the benefit-to-cost analysis to determine the benefits of diverting 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25% of trucks to a dedicated truck facility. At all levels of diversion, the benefits exceed the costs. Although the analysis shows that a truck-only facility is desirable, the policy framework to make such a facility physically and financially feasible does not exist in federal or Iowa policy.