The Impact Of Control Power On Firm’s Logistics Performance

Since its origins in the1980s, logisitics outsourcing is maturing as an option to helpenterprises achieve competitive advantages through effectiveness and efficiency, and hasreceived much attention from academicians and practitioners in recent years. Thus, itbecomes significant trend. However, many outsourced companies suffered from the failureof logistics outsourcing in practice. Some companies have brought the outsourced logisticsactivities back in-house, or establish a Joint Venture to implement logistics outsouring.Some researchers believe that losing control of logistics activities is an important factorwhich hampers further outsourcing and achieves good performance, it will also be a keyfactor that affect the logistics service mode decision-making. Therefore, the extent ofenterprise’s control over logistics activities, defined as control power, and its impact onlogistics operational performance will worth our attention and further study.Given the concept of control power, inherent mechanism of its impact on logisticsoperational performance was discussed by transaction cost theory, resource-based viewand principal agency theory. According to literature review and theoretical analysis,conceptual model was built that control power has a positive impact on logisticsoperational performance and the mediate effect of firm size is significant. Scales of thetwo variables, control power and logistics operational performance, were developed, anddata were collected through questionairs in mail and on-site interview of Chinamanufacturing firms in various industries.96samples were reclaimed, reliability andvalidity analysis were conducted using SPSS and AMOS. Based on SEM analysis, thispaper accomplished model adjustment, model fitting test, hypotheses test and moderatingeffect analysis. The results show that control power has a positive effect on logisticsoperational performance, firm size moderating effect is insignificant. Hope the conclusionof this paper can provide a beneficial reference for practice in enterprise logistics servicemode selection.