The DOI matches its Crossref record; 57 of the 57 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Third party logistics: a literature review and research agenda
Abstract
Purpose: To provide a taxonomy of third party logistics (3PL) research and, based on that, to develop a research agenda for this field of study. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed 3PL research classification framework is based on a comprehensive literature review, which concentrates on peer‐reviewed journal papers published within the period 1990‐2005. A total of 114 academic sources have been retrieved and analysed in terms of research purpose and nature, method employed, theoretical approach and level of analysis. Findings: The review reveals that 3PL research is empirical‐descriptive in nature and that it generally lacks a theoretical foundation. Survey research is the dominant method employed, reflecting the positivist research tradition within logistics. It identifies certain knowledge gaps and develops five propositions for future research. It suggests that focus should be directed towards more normative, theory‐driven and qualitative method‐based studies. It also argues that further empirical research in relation to 3PL design/implementation and fourth party logistics services is needed. Originality/value: This paper fulfils an identified need for a comprehensive classification framework of 3PL studies. It essentially provides both academics and practitioners with a conceptual map of existing 3PL research and also points out opportunities for future research.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: Triangulation in Action.
Jick, T. D. (1979) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.2307/2392366 · Cited by 7,103 · cited 1×
“In connection with the above, it is suggested that a triangulation research strategy (Jick, 1979), combining quantitative and qualitative methods, would integrate findings and enhance their validity.”
BackgroundDeveloping relationships in business networks
Håkansson, H., & Snehota, I. (1995) · Routledge eBooks · Cited by 3,256
Leonard-Barton, D. (1990) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.1.3.248 · Cited by 1,360
Supply Chain Management: Relationships, Chains and Networks
Harland, C. M. (1996) · British Journal of Management · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.1996.tb00148.x · Cited by 1,065
Supply chain management: an analytical framework for critical literature review
Croom, S., Romano, P., & Giannakis, M. (2000) · European Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management · doi:10.1016/s0969-7012(99)00030-1 · Cited by 953
THE USE OF THE CASE STUDY METHOD IN LOGISTICS RESEARCH
Ellram, L. M. (1996) · Journal of Business Logistics · Cited by 949
Strategic development of third party logistics providers
Hertz, S., & Alfredsson, M. (2003) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/s0019-8501(02)00228-6 · Cited by 591
Supply Chain Management, Partnership, and the Shipper ‐ Third Party Relationship
Ellram, L. M., & Cooper, M. C. (1990) · The International Journal of Logistics Management · doi:10.1108/95740939080001276 · Cited by 576
Outsourcing of logistics functions: a literature survey
Razzaque, M. A., & Sheng, C. C. (1998) · International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management · doi:10.1108/09600039810221667 · Cited by 533
Innovation in logistic services and the new business model: A conceptual framework
Chapman, R. L., Soosay, C., & Kandampully, J. (2003) · International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management · doi:10.1108/09600030310499295 · Cited by 377
Cited by
Cichosz, M., Wallenburg, C. M., & Knemeyer, A. M. (2020) · The International Journal of Logistics Management · doi:10.1108/ijlm-08-2019-0229 · Cited by 555
A review of the transportation mode choice and carrier selection literature
Meixell, M. J., & Norbis, M. (2008) · The International Journal of Logistics Management · doi:10.1108/09574090810895951 · Cited by 296
LAI, F., LI, D., WANG, Q., & ZHAO, X. (2008) · Journal of Supply Chain Management · doi:10.1111/j.1745-493x.2008.00064.x · Cited by 261
Trade-offs in supply chain transparency: the case of Nudie Jeans Co
Egels-Zandén, N., Hulthén, K., & Wulff, G. (2015) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.04.074 · Cited by 216
Barriers to implementing reverse logistics in South Australian construction organisations
Chileshe, N., Rameezdeen, R., Hosseini, M. R., & Lehmann, S. (2015) · Supply Chain Management: An International Journal · doi:10.1108/scm-10-2014-0325 · Cited by 121
Metadata
- Authors
- Selviaridis, K., & Spring, M.
- Venue
- The International Journal of Logistics Management
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2007-05-29
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 125-150
- ISSN
- 0957-4093 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2006654301
- Cited by
- 560
- References
- 57
- FWCI
- 41.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
How to cite
Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Third party logistics: a literature review and research agenda. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1108/09574090710748207
- The paper
- Selviaridis, K., & Spring, M. (2007). Third party logistics: a literature review and research agenda. The International Journal of Logistics Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/09574090710748207
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.