Toward a conceptualization of humanitarian service providers

Process modularity, supply chain responsiveness, and moderators: The Médecins Sans Frontières response to the Covid-19 pandemic

The unprecedented scale of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenge for health supply chains around the world. Many international humanitarian organizations have had to ensure the continuity of their already complex development programs, while addressing their supply chain disruptions linked to the pandemic. Process modularity has frequently been advocated as a strategy to mitigate such disruptions, although empirical evidence regarding its impact on supply chain responsiveness and what moderates this impact is scarce. This exploratory research uses supply chain data analysis, qualitative content analysis, interviews, and a three-round Delphi study to investigate how Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières; MSF) and its 151 missions employed process modularity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our results show that despite severe disruptions, process modularity-based on a modular architecture, interfaces, and standards-has helped MSF maintain supply chain responsiveness. Specifically, it (1) enabled time-consuming, nonessential tasks to be skipped, (2) relieved internal and external bottlenecks, and (3) facilitated better allocation and prioritization. Our analyses also put forward eight moderators, structured in three dimensions (visibility, alignment, and resource orchestration), which can affect the impact of process modularity on supply chain responsiveness. We extend the literature on supply chain responsiveness and process modularity by presenting extensive empirical results suggesting that process modularity improves responsiveness in crisis situations, how it does so, and what moderates this impact. Our study thereby highlights the potential of this strategy and provides operationally relevant insights that could help organizations to implement or to review and redesign their process modularity.

Value co-creation in humanitarian service triads: service provision for beneficiaries

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand how humanitarian service triad members contribute to value co-creation, and how they assess the continuity of services in humanitarian supply chains (HSCs) to ensure support for beneficiaries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applied a qualitative methodology through a single case study of a humanitarian service triad composed of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), service providers and beneficiaries. Empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations.

Findings

The findings confirm that the humanitarian service triad perspective in HSCs allows better understanding of humanitarian assistance. The findings indicate six components grouped into a humanitarian service triad framework, namely: service design, service reachability, training serviceability, collaboration, synergy, ethical considerations and after-service care.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to understanding of humanitarian services provision by studying service triads in humanitarian settings. It also confirms the need for cooperation between practitioners in services provision. The findings are limited to the context of refugees in Turkey, specifically humanitarian service triad located in Izmir area.

Practical implications

The Humanitarian Service Triad Framework for Service Provision proposed in this paper can be used as a tool for policy makers and practitioners involved in service design in HSC contexts, stressing the need for including all the framework components in practice.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to focus on a humanitarian service triad, which includes beneficiaries as triad members in long-term humanitarian service provision.

Humanitarian actions of a cultural center during the Covid-19 pandemic: an analogy with supply chain business processes

Purpose

This study intends to map the supply chain and characterize the business processes of a cultural center in an aggregated and coordinated operation to serve families in need during the Covid-19 pandemic. This case study analyzes distinct aspects of humanitarian management capable of contributing to the management of commercial supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting a case study approach, this research contextualizes the view on humanitarian supply chains related to the importance of participating organizations' engagement and the relationship and similarity with business organizations.

Findings

The study presents the model adopted to undertake the aid operations, maps the cultural center's humanitarian supply chain, clarifies the relationships and operations developed and compares the business processes with those of commercial chains. Possibilities and initiatives are discussed that can contribute to business organizations' greater engagement in humanitarian actions.

Research limitations/implications

Restricted to one case involving the cultural center and the other agents researched, the information and considerations are limited, and any generalization should be treated with caution.

Practical implications

The study is a practical example that clarifies how business organizations can engage in the supply chain of humanitarian institutions. It also illustrates ways to help these institutions improve their fund-raising initiatives.

Social implications

This study is justified by the representativeness of humanitarian actions in critical periods such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The study also presents potential ways to contribute to operations of this nature and to encourage business organizations to improve participation in humanitarian movements.

Originality/value

Many studies on the subject have highlighted the importance of comparing humanitarian and business supply chains through real case research.

Mitigating interorganizational conflicts in humanitarian logistics collaboration: the roles of contractual agreements, trust and post-disaster environmental uncertainty phases

Purpose

Governance is the key to establishing effective collaboration among humanitarian logistics partners addressing an ongoing relief work. With a focus on humanitarian interorganizational collaboration, this research draws on governance theories to investigate how conflicts can be mitigated in this challenging setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The focus on governance extends attention to the frontiers of contractual agreement, trust and environmental uncertainty to be applied in the humanitarian setting. To develop perspectives, an online survey of 289 field executives working in humanitarian organizations across the globe is conducted. The findings are based on hierarchical regressions.

Findings

Environmental uncertainty, in humanitarian logistics, is not straightforward, but wields distinctive challenges in the response phase (immediate to the disaster) as well as the recovery phase (beginning of build back) – to loom prospects of conflict between partners. Findings outline that contractual agreement can increase conflict during the response phase (high environmental uncertainty), but mitigate it during the recovery phase (low environmental uncertainty). Furthermore, contractual agreement interactively strengthens the ability of trust to reduce conflict. Yet, trust acting alone shows best outcome to mitigate conflict.

Research limitations/implications

Contrary to the established understanding in traditional logistics suggesting the vitality of contracts to easily mitigate challenges posed by environmental uncertainty, the humanitarian setting extends a unique outset for interorganizational governance based on the temporality of response and recovery phases.

Originality/value

This research pioneers to quantitatively examine the setting of humanitarian logistics based on survey. Given the difficulty of data acquisition, the extant research has largely relied on qualitative investigations when considering the agenda of governance.

Outsourcing in humanitarian logistics – status quo and future directions

Purpose

Outsourcing of logistics has great importance in disaster relief. Aid agencies spend several billion US dollars every year on logistics services. However, the concept of outsourcing has not been established adequately in literature on humanitarian logistics, leading to a fragmented view of the practice. This paper provides a holistic perspective of the concept by constructing a conceptual framework to analyze both practice and research of outsourcing in humanitarian operations. Based on this analysis, we explore future trends and identify research gaps.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a structured review of academic literature, a two-round Delphi study with 31 experts from aid agencies and a complementary full-day focus group with twelve experts from aid agencies and logistics service providers.

Findings

The paper systemizes the current practice of outsourcing in humanitarian logistics according to a conceptual framework of five dimensions: subject, object, partner, design and context. In addition, it reveals ten probable developments of the practice over the next years. Finally, it describes eight important research gaps and presents a research agenda for the field.

Research limitations/implications

The literature review considered peer-reviewed academic papers. Practitioner papers could provide additional insights into the practice. Moreover, the Delphi study focused on the perspective of aid agencies. Capturing the views of logistics service providers in more detail would be a valuable addition.

Originality/value

The paper establishes the academic basis for the important practice of outsourcing in humanitarian logistics. It highlights essential research gaps and, thereby, opens up the field for future research.