[Logprofs] Posting of CfP in IJPDLM: The Dark Side of e-Commerce Logistics: Challenges and Implications in the Last Mile

Mon Mar 20 10:35:16 EDT 2023

Good morning,
would you mind posting our CfP

many thanks,
Herbert

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CALL FOR PAPERS: THE DARK SIDE OF E-COMMERCE LOGISTICS: CHALLENGES AND  
IMPLICATIONS IN THE LAST MILE
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION & LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT

Submission open: 1st of March, 2023
Submission close: 31st of August, 2023

Guest editor(s) Herbert Kotzab, Hamid Jafari, Hadi Ghaderi, Erik Sandberg

INTRODUCTION

E-commerce has enjoyed an unprecedented growth, thanks to the  
increased reception by shoppers and advancements in digitalization of  
logistics processes, as well as the new work-from-home economy  
resulting from the pandemic. Respectively, last mile logistics (LML)  
has received additional momentum amongst academics and practitioners  
(Risberg and Jafari, 2022). LML involves activities in the final  
stretch of the supply chain “from the order penetration point to the  
consumer’s preferred destination point” (Lim et al., 2018: 310). LML  
known to be a resource-consuming process requiring seamless  
coordination among multiple stakeholders. LML also suffers from  
problems such as urban congestion, lack of economies of scale and  
unattended deliveries in the consumer-facing realm (Brown and  
Guiffrida, 2014).
Despite this, much attention has been given to addressing how  
retailers and couriers configure their LML practices to be more  
efficient and stay competitive (Lim and Winkenbach, 2019). The  
application of crowd-shipping has been recently investigated as a  
solution to leverage existing mobility patterns for parcel delivery  
(Ghaderi et al., 2022b, Ghaderi et al., 2022a). Innovative and  
collaborative LML business models have also received attention from  
scholars, including consumer participation in LML service (Wang et  
al., 2019) and consumer preference for technology-led delivery options  
such as drones (Merkert et al., 2022). Moreover, logistics service  
flexibility and quality in the LML have been examined from the point  
of view of consumers (Sorkun et al., 2020).

Against this backdrop, the sustainability implications of LML are  
relatively overlooked (Mangiaracina et al., 2015, He, 2020). From an  
environmental standpoint, LML is known to be the most expensive and  
emission polluting segment of the supply chain (Ghaderi et al.,  
2022a). According to the World Economic Forum (2020), with no  
interventions, emissions and congestion from delivery traffic will  
continue to grow by 32% and 21% respectively, by 2030. Even solutions  
such as parcel lockers, may be less environmentally friendly in  
sparsely populated areas as the travel distances increases in the  
pick-up process (Peppel and Spinler, 2022). Packaging is also  
critical, because of its direct interface with warehouse and  
distribution operations and sustainability challenges (Pålsson and  
Sandberg, 2021). Moreover, categories such as apparel or consumer  
electronics, which are associated with high returns, incur higher  
environmental concerns (Mangiaracina et al., 2015). Handling returns  
is logistically sophisticated and unstructured (Hjort et al., 2019),  
often resulting in unsustainable practices, and high energy  
consumption (Pålsson et al., 2017, Edwards et al., 2010).

 From a social standpoint, there is growing concern regarding welfare  
in the LML. The industry is often criticized for the poor working  
environment, high turnover rate, inefficient processes, and high  
health concerns for the employees (Peppel et al., 2022). Since  
e-commerce is associated with small orders, large assortments, tight  
delivery schedules, and varying workload, the workforce in  
conventional warehouses undergoes significant pressure, stress, and  
ergonomics challenges (Boysen et al., 2019). Specifically, the LM  
delivery sector is notorious for high safety risks, low labor wages,  
lack of compliance transparency, silencing culture, and legal  
uncertainty, especially in modern collaborative economy (Verheyen and  
Kołacz, 2022, Kougiannou and Mendonça, 2021).

OBJECTIVE

This Special Issue seeks contributions to address the often neglected  
“dark side” of LML. We encourage researchers to provide insights on  
environmental and social sustainability impacts of LML in the  
e-commerce context. The special issue seeks to theorize why certain  
dark sides remain pervasive, and to understand how the LML and  
e-commerce managers and policy makers seek to address them.  
Methodologically, this special issue is seeking both quantitative and  
qualitative empirical studies, case studies, conceptual research,  
review, and position papers. Mathematic modelling and descriptive  
literature review are out of the scope for this journal. We are  
looking for studies with clear and novel theoretical and  
practical/policy contributions.

Suggested topics include (but are not limited to):

   *   What are the different dark sides (negative impacts) of  
omni-channel LML practices on sustainability?
   *   How to measure and compare the environmental and social impacts  
of omni-channel LML practices?
   *   How do LML industry trade-off between the negative impacts of  
LML practices with demand for profitability and competitive service?
   *   Why managers managing LML business put limited efforts to  
reduce the negative impacts of omni-channel LML practices?
   *   How should conventional LML business models be revisited to  
cater for enhanced environmental and social outcomes?
   *   How can platform-based LML, including crowd-shipping and  
crowd-storage solutions, contribute to tackling the sustainability  
challenges of contemporary supply chains?
   *   How do retailers’ incentives and sale tactics encourage  
sustainable consumer behaviors?
   *   How can organizations innovate and develop capability to reduce  
negative impacts of LML and yet achieve sustainable competitive  
advantage?
   *   What are the challenges and opportunities with on-demand food  
delivery systems?
   *   What are the roles of government and regulations in fostering a  
fairer and safer LML workforce?

SUBMISSION

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and  
access are available here: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijpdlm

Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see:  journal’s  
author guidelines here:  
https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/ijpdlm#author-guidelines

Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue  
title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in  
response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should  
they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under  
review for this journal.

The full call for papers can be found here:
https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/calls-for-papers/dark-side-e-commerce-logistics-challenges-and-implications-last-mile
  -----
Prof. Dr. Herbert Kotzab

Universität Bremen
Fachbereich 07 I ABWL und Logistikmanagement
LogDynamics - Bremen Research Cluster for Dynamics in Logistics
WiWi2, Raum F 3110
Max-von-Laue-Straße 1
28359 Bremen

TEL. 0421 218-66981
kotzab at uni-bremen.de
www.uni-bremen.de/lm[1]
Area Editor-in-Chief Logistics Research 
http://www.editorialmanager.com/lore/default.aspx

Links:
------
[1] http://www.uni-bremen.de/lm
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