Evaluation of market entry strategies for e-mobility-based logistics under sustainability aspects
Abstract
Sustainability is increasingly important for society and thus, firms have to fulfil sustainability requirements. This is particularly challenging for logistics-service-providers (LSPs), since their operations have potentially negative impacts in all the sustainability dimensions. Electric-mobility-based-transportation (EMBT) is a service innovation with the potential to reduce negative impacts on sustainability. Different market entry strategies can be chosen when implementing such a sustainable service innovation. Our aim is to find out what role sustainability plays when LSPs evaluate the market entry strategies for EMBT and which strategy LSPs rate best. We use a case study of a German LSP and obtain data via focus group interviews. The strategies are evaluated using the multiple-attribute-decision-making-method PROMETHEE. We find that operational criteria are by far the most important. Ecological criteria also play an important role, while strategic-economic and social criteria play only a subordinate one. Regarding EMBT, a first-mover strategy is evaluated as the best one.
