IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v66y2018icp259-267.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring strategic characteristics of intermodal grain terminals: Empirical evidence from Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Santos, Alexandre Borges
  • Sproesser, Renato Luiz
  • Batalha, Mário Otávio

Abstract

Firms in the transportation industry are continuously evolving in order to build competitive advantages. Understanding who the competitors are and how they behave is a basic prerequisite for firms to adopt the right strategic positioning. Strategy and performance, therefore, are considered to be inseparable. In this manuscript, we exploit these two central areas in the field of business management from the perspective of grain terminal operators. A framework of analysis based on robust operations and strategic management literature is built to identify the strategic pattern of 24 intermodal grain terminals spread throughout the five Brazilian regions. The operational efficiency of the terminals is assessed through Data Envelopment Analysis. Subsequently, strategic groups are identified with the support of Cluster Analysis. Results suggest the existence of two major strategic groups: diversified small-scale terminals and focused large-scale terminals. The study is concluded by arguing that diversified small-scale terminals tend to offer a wider range of secondary services as an alternative to counterbalance their small transshipment scale, therefore, are likely to adopt a differentiation strategy; large-scale terminals, on the other hand, tend to focus mainly on the transshipment process, thus, are likely to adopt a cost leadership strategy. Theoretical and managerial implications resultant from the findings are presented and discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Santos, Alexandre Borges & Sproesser, Renato Luiz & Batalha, Mário Otávio, 2018. "Exploring strategic characteristics of intermodal grain terminals: Empirical evidence from Brazil," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 259-267.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:66:y:2018:i:c:p:259-267
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2017.11.022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692316302666
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2017.11.022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeremy C. Short & David J. Ketchen & Timothy B. Palmer & G. Tomas M. Hult, 2007. "Firm, strategic group, and industry influences on performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 147-167, February.
    2. R. E. Caves & M. E. Porter, 1977. "From Entry Barriers to Mobility Barriers: Conjectural Decisions and Contrived Deterrence to New Competition," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 91(2), pages 241-261.
    3. Martins, Ricardo Silveira & Lobo, Débora da Silva & Alves, Alexandre Florindo & Sproesser, Renato Luiz, 2014. "Fatores Relevantes na Contratação de Serviços em Terminais Intermodais para Granéis Agrícolas," Brazilian Journal of Rural Economy and Sociology (Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural-RESR), Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural, vol. 52(2), pages 1-18, June.
    4. Rob Konings & Hugo Priemus & Peter Nijkamp (ed.), 2008. "The Future of Intermodal Freight Transport," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3738.
    5. Margaret Peteraf & Mark Shanley, 1997. "Getting To Know You: A Theory Of Strategic Group Identity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(S1), pages 165-186, July.
    6. J. David Osborne & Charles I. Stubbart & Arkalgud Ramaprasad, 2001. "Strategic groups and competitive enactment: a study of dynamic relationships between mental models and performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 435-454, May.
    7. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    8. Karel O. Cool & Dan Schendel, 1987. "Strategic Group Formation and Performance: The Case of the U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry, 1963--1982," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(9), pages 1102-1124, September.
    9. Hung, Shiu-Wan & Lu, Wen-Min & Wang, Tung-Pao, 2010. "Benchmarking the operating efficiency of Asia container ports," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 203(3), pages 706-713, June.
    10. Reardon, Thomas & Codron, Jean-Marie & Busch, Lawrence & Bingen, R. James & Harris, Craig, 1999. "Global Change In Agrifood Grades And Standards: Agribusiness Strategic Responses In Developing Countries," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 2(3-4), pages 1-15.
    11. Ro-Kyung Park & Prabir De, 2004. "An Alternative Approach to Efficiency Measurement of Seaports," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 6(1), pages 53-69, March.
    12. Deepika Nath & Thomas S. Gruca, 1997. "Convergence across alternative methods for forming strategic groups," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(9), pages 745-760, October.
    13. W. Cooper & Shanling Li & L. Seiford & Kaoru Tone & R. Thrall & J. Zhu, 2001. "Sensitivity and Stability Analysis in DEA: Some Recent Developments," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 217-246, May.
    14. Reis, Vasco & Fabian Meier, J. & Pace, Giuseppe & Palacin, Roberto, 2013. "Rail and multi-modal transport," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 17-30.
    15. Rioux, Sébastien, 2014. "Food quality and the circulation time of commodities: lessons from the British milk trade 1845–1914," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 114-121.
    16. Graham Leask & David Parker, 2007. "Strategic groups, competitive groups and performance within the U.K. pharmaceutical industry: Improving our understanding of the competitive process," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 723-745, July.
    17. Arne Jensen, 2008. "Designing Intermodal Transport Systems: A Conceptual and Methodological Framework," Chapters, in: Rob Konings & Hugo Priemus & Peter Nijkamp (ed.), The Future of Intermodal Freight Transport, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Susanne Warning, 2004. "Performance Differences in German Higher Education: Empirical Analysis of Strategic Groups," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 24(4), pages 393-408, June.
    19. Teng-Fei Wang & Kevin Cullinane, 2006. "The Efficiency of European Container Terminals and Implications for Supply Chain Management," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 8(1), pages 82-99, March.
    20. Richard P. Rumelt, 1991. "How much does industry matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 167-185, March.
    21. Jean-Paul Rodrigue & Theo Notteboom, 2009. "The terminalization of supply chains: reassessing the role of terminals in port/hinterland logistical relationships," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 165-183, April.
    22. Mike W. Peng & Justin Tan & Tony W. Tong, 2004. "Ownership Types and Strategic Groups in an Emerging Economy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(7), pages 1105-1129, November.
    23. Monios, Jason, 2011. "The role of inland terminal development in the hinterland access strategies of Spanish ports," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 59-66.
    24. Lata Chatterjee & T.R. Lakshmanan, 2008. "Intermodal Freight Transport in the United States," Chapters, in: Rob Konings & Hugo Priemus & Peter Nijkamp (ed.), The Future of Intermodal Freight Transport, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    25. Rhonda K. Reger & Timothy B. Palmer, 1996. "Managerial Categorization of Competitors: Using Old Maps to Navigate New Environments," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(1), pages 22-39, February.
    26. Wilmsmeier, Gordon & Monios, Jason & Lambert, Bruce, 2011. "The directional development of intermodal freight corridors in relation to inland terminals," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1379-1386.
    27. R. D. Banker & A. Charnes & W. W. Cooper, 1984. "Some Models for Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(9), pages 1078-1092, September.
    28. Bill McKelvey, 1978. "Organizational Systematics: Taxonomic Lessons from Biology," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(13), pages 1428-1440, September.
    29. Anil Nair & Larry Filer, 2003. "Cointegration of firm strategies within groups: a long‐run analysis of firm behavior in the Japanese steel industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 145-159, February.
    30. William W. Cooper & Lawrence M. Seiford & Kaoru Tone, 2007. "Data Envelopment Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-0-387-45283-8, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alhamzah Alnoor & Khai Wah Khaw & XinYing Chew & Sammar Abbas & Zeeshan Zaib Khattak, 2023. "The Influence of the Barriers of Hybrid Strategy on Strategic Competitive Priorities: Evidence from Oil Companies," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 24(2), pages 179-198, June.
    2. Filassi, Monique & Oliveira, Andréa Leda Ramos de, 2022. "Competitiveness drivers for soybean exportation and the fundamental role of the supply chain," Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural (RESR), Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural, vol. 60(3), January.
    3. Souza, Marlon Fernandes de & Tisler, Trevor Ray & Castro, Gustavo Spadotti Amaral & Oliveira, Andréa Leda Ramos de, 2023. "Port regionalization for agricultural commodities: Mapping exporting port hinterlands," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    4. Maria Gabriela Mendonça Peixoto & Maria Cristina Angélico Mendonça & Cleber Carvalho de Castro & Luiz Gonzaga de Castro Júnior & Gustavo Alves de Melo & Mário Otávio Batalha, 2022. "Evaluation of the operational efficiency of southeast intermodal terminals in the grain logistics chain using data envelopment analysis," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(7), pages 3044-3058, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hung, Shiu-Wan & Lu, Wen-Min & Wang, Tung-Pao, 2010. "Benchmarking the operating efficiency of Asia container ports," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 203(3), pages 706-713, June.
    2. Suárez-Alemán, Ancor & Morales Sarriera, Javier & Serebrisky, Tomás & Trujillo, Lourdes, 2016. "When it comes to container port efficiency, are all developing regions equal?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 56-77.
    3. Suárez-Alemán, Ancor & Morales Sarriera, Javier & Serebrisky, Tomás & Trujillo, Lourdes, 2016. "When it comes to container port efficiency, are all developing regions equal?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 56-77.
    4. Milton Nektarios & Panos Xenos & George Nektarios & Kostas Poulakis & Michalis Chouzouris, 2015. "Efficiency Analysis of Lloyd’s Syndicates: A Comparison of DEA and SFA Approaches," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 65(1-2), pages 27-46, January-M.
    5. Vikas Anand & Mahendra Joshi & Anne M. O'Leary-Kelly, 2013. "An Organizational Identity Approach to Strategic Groups," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 571-590, April.
    6. Huang, Kuo-Feng, 2009. "How do strategic groups handle cognitive complexity to sustain competitive advantage? A commentary essay," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 1296-1298, December.
    7. Ángela González-Moreno & Francisco Sáez-Martínez, 2008. "Rivalry and strategic groups: what makes a company a rival?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 12(3), pages 261-285, August.
    8. Mahmoudi, Reza & Emrouznejad, Ali & Shetab-Boushehri, Seyyed-Nader & Hejazi, Seyed Reza, 2020. "The origins, development and future directions of data envelopment analysis approach in transportation systems," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    9. Brenner, Steffen & Bunke, Olaf & Droge, Bernd & Schwalbach, Joachim, 2001. "The relative importance of group-level effects on the performance of German companies," SFB 373 Discussion Papers 2001,95, Humboldt University of Berlin, Interdisciplinary Research Project 373: Quantification and Simulation of Economic Processes.
    10. Chen, Yi-Min & Ni, Yu-Ting & Liu, Hsin-Hsien & Teng, Ying-Maw, 2015. "Information- and rivalry-based perspectives on reactive patent litigation strategy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 788-792.
    11. Patricija Bajec & Danijela Tuljak-Suban & Eva Zalokar, 2021. "A Distance-Based AHP-DEA Super-Efficiency Approach for Selecting an Electric Bike Sharing System Provider: One Step Closer to Sustainability and a Win–Win Effect for All Target Groups," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, January.
    12. Antonio Gozzi & Roberta Scarsi & Riccardo Spinelli, 2015. "Un?analisi dei raggruppamenti strategici nella fornitura di servizi logistici," ECONOMIA E DIRITTO DEL TERZIARIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(2), pages 231-257.
    13. Evelin Krmac & Mozhgan Mansouri Kaleibar, 2023. "A comprehensive review of data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology in port efficiency evaluation," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 25(4), pages 817-881, December.
    14. Robson, Julie & van der Heijden, Hans, 2016. "Senior management perceptions of aspirational groups: A study of the UK general insurance market," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 2731-2738.
    15. Monios, Jason & Wilmsmeier, Gordon, 2012. "Giving a direction to port regionalisation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1551-1561.
    16. Khoshnevis, Pegah & Teirlinck, Peter, 2018. "Performance evaluation of R&D active firms," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 16-28.
    17. Peter Fernandes Wanke & Rebecca de Mattos, 2014. "Capacity Issues and Efficiency Drivers in Brazilian Bulk Terminals," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 11(5), pages 72-98, October.
    18. Angela Stefania Bergantino & Enrico Musso, 2011. "A Multi-step Approach to Model the Relative Efficiency of European Ports: The Role of Regulation and Other Non-discretionary Factors," Chapters, in: Kevin Cullinane (ed.), International Handbook of Maritime Economics, chapter 18, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Nicole Adler & Georg Hirte & Shravana Kumar & Hans-Martin Niemeier, 2022. "The impact of specialization, ownership, competition and regulation on efficiency: a case study of Indian seaports," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 24(3), pages 507-536, September.
    20. Merkel, Axel & Holmgren, Johan, 2017. "Dredging the depths of knowledge: Efficiency analysis in the maritime port sector," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 63-74.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:66:y:2018:i:c:p:259-267. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.