Business Commons^™

Middle-Range Theorizing On Logistics Customer Service, Daniel Pellathy, Joonhwan In, Diane A. Mollenkopf, Theodore P. Stank

Peer Reviewed Articles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how a systematic application of middle-range theorizing, which pays particular attention to contexts and mechanisms, can be used to extend current knowledge on logistics customer service (LCS) in a number of critical areas.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies Stank et al.’s (2017) framework for middle-ranging theorizing in logistics to develop a research framework and agenda that can guide future LCS research. Results are generated through a review of the LCS literature and an application of the main concepts of middle-range theorizing.

Findings – The paper outlines opportunities for middle-range research …

New Frontiers In Logistics Research: Theorizing At The Middle Range, Theodore P. Stank, Daniel Pellathy, Joonhwan In, Diane A. Mollenkopf, John E. Bell

Peer Reviewed Articles

Logistics has evolved from a description-based discipline to one based upon theoretical grounding from other business disciplines to define, explain and understand complex interrelationships, resulting in the identification of the discipline’s primary domain and major concepts – the “what’s” of logistics. General theories, however, lack the domain specificity critical to understanding the inner workings within key relationships – the how’s, why’s and when’s – that drive actual outcomes. Middle-range theorizing enables researchers to focus on these inner workings to develop a deeper understanding of the degree to, and conditions under which, logistics phenomena impact outcomes as well as the mechanisms …